The Hero's Sister
by TheSOLDIERWay
Summary: The younger sister of Zack Fair finds herself getting into trouble in SOLDIER. She's reckless and doesn't know when to stop, maybe somebody will come along to cool her fire. Cloud/OC
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1: Trouble Maker**_

The elevator opened to reveal the SOLDIER floor of the Shinra building. I glanced around the hallway to make sure nobody was around and carefully made my way to the Briefing Room. I was late comming back from a mission, what was supposed to only be a week long assignment turned into two weeks, and if my brother saw me before I had time to make up an excuse, I was in big trouble.

_Almost there!_ I thought.

I was just about to open the door when, "Hey Senna, where've you been?"

I flinched and closed my eyes, _Busted..._

Turning, I put a smile on my face. Behind me stood my older brother, Zack Fair.

"Hey, big bro..I was just-"

"Senna, you're a week late. You had me worried sick, I thought you were hurt!" He exclaimed.

"I know, Zack, I'm sorry. There was a complication and I had to fix it."

Just to seal the deal, I used my puppy eyes on him, just to bump up to forgiveness level. Zack could never resist my puppy eyes, just one look into those glistening baby blues and he was trapped until I was forgiven for whatever I did wrong. Zack bit his lower lip once the face grabbed his attention. He tried to look away, but it was no use. Finally he sighed and hung his shoulders.

"Fine, Sen, you're forgiven." He said.

I smiled and hugged him, "Thank you, Zack!"

"Yeah yeah yeah," he laughed, "but I think you're getting to old to use the puppy face. Pretty soon it's not gonna work, then what are you gonna do? Hmmmm?"

"Oh please, you're never to old to do the puppy dog face, and besides, _you_ still use the puppy dog face."

Zack glanced around the room, trying to think up an excuse I suppose. That's my brother for ya, always trying to think up something to get him out of trouble, maybe I got that from him.

"Alright, Sen, you win. Just go clock in already and I'll see you back at home." he said.

"Yes, older brother, sir!" I saluted.

Zack rolled his eyes and walked away. It's only been a month since he was promoted to First Class SOLDIER and already he's starting to act like a high authority official. It's only a matter of time before he takes some poor Third Class under his wing and becomes like Angeal, or Genisis, or even Sephiroth. A picture of Zack with long silver hair and cat like green eyes appeared in my head, I shuddered, _No, not like Sephiroth._ I walked into the Briefing room to check back in from my mission. Now hopefully I'm due for a day off to enjoy being back, nahh, like that's gonna happen.

"Welcome back, Senna." Sephiroth said behind me.

"Ohhh...I'm in trouble aren't I?" I asked.

Sephiroth was my mentor, strict as he was with training, sometimes he would let me off with a warning when I did something stupid, or dangerous. Hopefully this fit into the category of stupid instead of dangerous. Sephiroth crossed his arms and shook his head. I innocently smiled at him, I would try the puppy dog eyes, but I've tried that before and they had no effect on him. He nodded his head towards the door, meaning: Go to the training room. I sighed in defeat and hung my shoulders, my usual punishment was to do numerous exercises and fight off multiple computer generated fiends until my body couldn't take anymore strain, and even then I had to keep going. That was Sephiroth's way of training and punishing, to always push yourself further than what you can normally go. I've gotten better from the first day I was here, within half an hour I was down for the count, but now I can go a good six or seven hours before collapsing. We passed by Angeal before we got to the training room, Sephiroth stopped, but I continued to the training room. I knew what I had to do, so I didn't really need Sephiroth there to guide me. Professor Hojo was in the training room when I got there, he was mumbling to himself about a new experiment and how great it was going to be, or something like that. The man was just plain creepy, he wasn't just a scientist, he was a mad scientist that needed some serious mental help. I carefully walked past him and punched in my training program onto the computer stimulator.

I stretched my muscles before I started the main exercises, there's nothing worse than sore, aching, muscles that haven't had the time to get warmed up before doing vigorous activity. I felt eyes on me the entire time, it wasn't a comfortable feeling. Every now and then I would stop and look around, but nobody was in my line of sight, which made me wonder where Professor Hojo disappeared to. I shrugged my shoulders and got back to doing squats, something I picked up from watching Zack when he gets bored. There's no way I could do more than him, but I'm working on it. I could feel the sweat rolling down my back by the time I got to seventy-five squats.

"Come on, you can do better." I said to myself.

I locked my arms behind my head and kept going, my legs were burning and I could feel the heat in my face. I tried to keep even breaths, but eventually I fell over from my legs going numb. I rolled over onto my stomach and started doing push-ups. I would take a short break, but I didn't want to risk getting caught by Sephiroth.

Finally after eight hours, I collapsed flat on my back, out of breath and not able to feel any part of my body. On the up side, I beat my original record of seven and a half hours. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and sat up.

"Finished already?"

Sephiroth walked into the training room with a potion in his hand. He tossed it to me, thankfully I had enough strength in my arms to catch it. I scowled at the light blue liquid in the bottle. I've always hated this stuff, it tasted like melted chalk with spinach.

"Drink it. You'll feel better." Sephiroth said.

I looked at him, "You know I hate this stuff."

"It's good for you."

"Yeah wells so are vegetables, but I don't eat much of those either."

Sephiroth sighed, "Professor Hojo is comming back in here later to test out his new invention. Do you want to be here to be his test dummy?"

I took a moment to think about it, then popped off the lid of the bottle and chugged down the chalky liquid. I squinted my face when I got the last drop of the potion and handed the bottle back to Sephiroth. The warmth of the potion spread throughout my entire body and I felt like I could go through training for another five hours. My phone went off, making me jump because of how loud it was. I pulled it out of my pocket and opened it.

"Hello, Senna Fair here. How may I help you?" I said.

"It's almost eleven thirty, Sen. Where are you?"

I smiled and rolled my eyes, Zack can be to over protective sometimes, especially when it came to my curfew time.

"Don't worry, Zack. I just got done with training and I'm on my way home right now. So keep your panties on and sit tight."

"Oh that's funny, Senna. Real funny." Zack said with a monotone voice.

"You love me, big bro, I know you do." I smiled.

"Yeah, well love isn't gonna be enough to get you home before your curfew, remember the infantrymen patrol the streets and they're strict about kids being out after midnight."

"I'm not a kid, Zack. I'm seventeen, I know how to take care of myself, and besides, most of those infantrymen are my age."

"Just get home before my head explodes from worrying about you." I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Yes, brother."

I closed my phone and put it back in my pocket. Sephiroth was still in the room, looking rather bored.

"I gotta get home, Zack's getting worried." I said.

He nodded his head toward the door, meaning I could leave. "Take care of your own training tomorrow, I have a mission to go on, so I won't be here."

"Yes, sir."

I lightly bowed to him, my usual form of respect, and began my walk to the elevator. The hallway was deserted, there used to be so many Seconds and Thirds running around trying to finish their last minute work, but ever since Genisis left, this place has been so empty. I turned the coner that led to the elevators and almost ran into somebody else coming around.

"Oh, sorry." I said.

"Senna Fair, 2nd class SOLDIER, so nice to see you again, how was your training?"

I hesitated looking up, I knew the voice, that crazy, maniacal, voice. Professor Hojo stood infront of me with a devious smirk on his face. I nodded at him and stepped to the side, but he stepped infrong of me.

"Now now, Senna, don't be rude. Answer my question." he said.

I looked towards the floor, "It was fine." I mumbled.

"Good girl, now on your way, I've got important work to do."

Hojo stepped past me, I looked over my shoulder and made a disgusted face at his back. _What a creepy man._

At night the streets of Midgar were creepy, but also peaceful. There was always a small breeze blowing through the tall buildings, and the fountain in the center of town supplied the cooling mist. I sat down on the edge of the fountain, being late by afew minutes won't hurt Zack. I dipped my figures into the cold water and made small circles. I breathed in the scent of the mist and fresh air, and sighed. Light footsteps brought my attention to the stairs leading towards the train station. An Infantryman was making his rounds, poor guy, he must be the unlucky one to get the night shift. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs when he saw me.

"You should get home, it's gettinng late." He said.

He had a soothing voice, one that sounded innocent and kind, not arrogant and bossy like the rest of the Infantrymen I've had the unfortunance of meeting.

"I'll be ok, I know how to take care of myself." I replied.

He walked over to the fountain. From what little I could see of him, he had pale skin that looked soft to touch, and a nicely built figure, he wasn't a city boy.

"Sometimes fiends wonder into the city in the middle of the night. Do you want me to walk you home?" He asked.

"It's alright. No fiend is a match for a SOLDIER 2nd Class." I said matter of factly.

"Oh! SOLDIER. I'm so sorry, I didn't know-"

I cutt him off with a light chuckle.

"That's alright, I'm one of few girls in SOLDIER. I don't expect anybody to know who I am." I stood up and walked towards him, "I'm Senna, Senna Fair, but my brother calls me Sen. What's your name?"

"I'm Cloud, Cloud Strife."

"Well, Cloud Strife, why don't you let me see what you look like under that helmet?"

Cloud took off his helmet, revealing his blonde spiky hair, handsome features, and the most gorgeous blue eyes I have ever seen. I found myself getting caught in his gaze, like I was spiraling down into a pit that I didn't want to get out of. He shifted uncomfortably, probably because I was staring wide eyed at him. I shook my head to recover from my stupidity.

"Um, sorry haha, but your eyes..they're just..I really like them."

Cloud's eyes widened, "Oh, thank you." A hint of blush appeared on his pale skin, "Nobody has ever said that to me before haha."

I blushed as well, though I usually state the obvious, I've never gone that far before. "You're welcome."

We stood in an uncomfortable silence for awhile before the clock beside the fountain made a loud ding noise, telling everybody that it was midnight.

"Oh crap! I'm late!" I exclaimed.

I rushed past Cloud towards the stairs, I turned back at him before I ran to far away.

"I'll see you later, ok Cloud?"

He nodded at me and put his helmet back on. Even from this distance I could still see the blush on his cheeks. I smiled, and ran up the stairs to mine and Zack's apartment. I seemed to be getting into a lot of trouble today, maybe it was the weather.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2: In the Market**_

Today, I was in for a boring day. Zack and Sephiroth were both sent off on a mission, and I had no work to do besides training, which I got done with already. I could be like Zack and just do squats in the lobby, or I could do something more productive with my time. The only problem was, I didn't know what to do. I snapped my fingers and made a bee line for the elevators.

_I can go grocery shopping and make a nice dinner for Zack when he gets back home! His birthday is comming up too, maybe I'll get him a present. _I thought.

In my mode of super thinking, I didn't realize that the elevator doors weren't opened, and I rammed right into them. I made an 'oof' noise when I fell on my butt, and maybe something popped that wasn't supposed to. I quickly got up and pretended to dust myself off incase anybody was watching from afar, or the security cameras. I pushed the button, then waited impatiently for the doors to open.

"Senna Fair, odd seeing you two days in a row."

I cringed at the annoying voice of Professor Hojo. That was one day to much that I've seen him, I was starting to get a migrane. I looked at the green numbers above the elevator doors, they were so close to the SOLDIER floor, but not close enough. Hojo stood next to me, his arms behind his back, and standing in a professional manner. Taking a deep, calming, breath, I looked at him.

"Nice to see you as well, Professor Hojo." I sneered through gritted teeth, man was it difficult to be nice to this guy.

"I haven't seen Sephiroth around, where has he gone off to?"

"Sephiroth got called off on a mission. He won't be back for the rest of the week." I explained, "If you have a message for him I'll hold onto it and deliver it to him when he returns."

"Oh no no no, that's alright." Hojo chuckled, "I was just curioius, considering you're normally following behind him like a lost puppy."

"I do not!" I exclaimed.

Hojo's eyes widened in shock at my outburst, realizing my mistake I closed my eyes and bowed my head, even though it killed me inside to show him respect.

"My apologies."

**Ding**. _FINALLY!_

The doors opened, and I quickley stepped inside. Hojo stayed on the outside of the elevator, much to my enjoyment.

"Well Professor, this is where I bid you adieu."

"Goodbye, Senna Fair. We'll have to have another chat sometime."

I nodded and hit the button for the main lobby multiple times, until the doors closed. A long held sigh of relief escaped from my lips when I no longer had to look upon Hojo's face. I shook my head and returned to what I was thinking about before I made face contact with the elevator doors. My phone started going off in my pocket.

"Hello, this is Senna." I said.

_"Senna Fair, this is Director Lazard, report to the briefing room immidiately."_

He hung up before I had a chance to respond. The elevator doors opened, and I pushed the button for the fifth floor. _I wonder what kind of trouble I'm in this time. _A million thoughts ran through my head as I tried to figure out what I could have done in the past 24 hours to have Director Lazard call me and have a meeting be immidiate.

The Director was sitting in his normal seat in the briefing room, I stood up straight and cleared my throat.

"SOLDIER 2nd Class, Senna Fair, reporting, sir." I said. It wasn't really a necessity to say that when reporting to the director, but I did it just to be a smart ass every now and again, and sometimes to score points with the _officials._

Lazard spun his chair around to face me. "Before he left, Sephiroth recommended you for 1st."

Normally I can keep my composure, but hearing news like that, I became just like my brother when he gets to excited.

"No way! Sephiroth recommended me for 1st? This is great! I mean, if I do get to become a 1st. Holy cow! To bad he's not here or I'd be giving him a serious bear hug right now!" I exclaimed.

Lazard blinked his eyes at me in astonishment. I quickly regained my composure and zipped my mouth shut. He mearly chuckled.

"You can certainly tell that you and Zack are related, if it weren't for your files, I would assume that you were twins." He said.

"My brother and I are very close. Man if only he was here too!"

"I'm sure he'll be back in a few days, but back to buisness," Lazard said, "I've looked over your reports and monitored your training sessions, and I must say, for someone of your age, you are very talented."

"I try." I smiled.

"Yes, well, I'm not one to question Sephiroth's recommendations, and if he believes that you're ready to be a 1st Class SOLDIER, then we'll give it a shot."

Once again, my composure decided to become missing in action, as I squeeled with delight.

"Oh this is so awesome! Thank you so much, Director!" I yelled.

"Just don't let your mentor down, Senna." Lazard smiled, "You're dismissed."

"Sir."

I bowed my head and skipped out the door, the biggest smile ever on my face.

_Oh! I should call Zack!_

I took my phone out of my pocket and dialed in Zack's number.

_"This is Zack, leave a message."_

"Hey big bro! You'll never guess! I just moved up to 1st Class! I would wait until you're back from your big mission to let you know, but you know me, big news has to be spread instantly! Well, be safe, and I'll see you when you get home. Later hater!"

As if I didn't have a million and one things to think about before, now I was thinking about all the things I can do as a 1st. If I really wanted to, I could take a pupil under my wing and teach them all the things that Sephiroth taught me, I can go on more difficult missions, I can reserve the training room for part of the day. I stopped before I got to far ahead of myself, but the best upside of this, was that I get a bigger paycheck. Don't get me wrong, I didn't join SOLDIER just for the money, I joined because I wanted to protect people, and because I like the action, but the pay is nice.

The market was buzzing with people, everywhere you looked there was a group of women or men, and children running around to each individual store. I tried my best to avoid running into people, but they weren't as generous to me. I was bumped, shoved, stepped on, and hit. I eventually got tired of beat treated like a punching bag, and I started to maneuver to the edge of the crowds.

_Maybe I should wait until tomorrow to get the ingredients_. I thought.

I turned around to go home when, BAM! I ran right into somebody. They dropped their bags and everything in them fell out.

"Oh, I am so sorry! Here let me help you."

I bent down and started gathering up the fallen products.

"That's alright."

I stopped, I recognized that voice. I looked up and saw the blonde spiky hair and soft pale skin. A light blush crept to my cheeks.

"Hey, Cloud. Not on the nightshift today?" I said.

He blushed when he realized it was me who bumped into him. His eyes met mine and I found myself entranced just like I was last night. I found the strength to look away before I fell to deep into those beautiful blue eyes. I cleared my throat and put his things back into the bags.

"I got the day off today, just training. What about you?" He asked.

"I just left. I got promoted to 1st today."

"So now you're even more of a superior to me." Cloud chuckled.

"Well if you would think about joining SOLDIER then maybe I could be your mentor." I winked.

A sad look came across Cloud's face, he looked down and slowly put everything back in the bag.

"I tried."

Everything was put back into the bags and we both stood up. I looked at him, confused.

"You tried?" I asked.

"They said I didn't have what it takes to be SOLDIER." He mumbled.

"Oh that can't be true. You'll have to show me what you can do, and I'll decided if you don't have what it takes."

Cloud blushed and looked the other direction. I smiled, _He's so cute._ "Uhh, that's not an order or anything, it's more like a request, feel free to decline if you want to."

"No, that's ok. I'll try again sometime."

Then the awkward silence started, Cloud and I just standing there, not looking at eachother, and not saying a word. I looked around the market, hardly anybody was around now. I suppose that makes it safe to go home. I turned back to Cloud, about to say goodbye and hopefully see him later, but he beat me to it.

"What are you doing Sunday?" He asked.

I stared at him in shock, taken aback by the sudden question. He nervously scratched the back of his head, waiting for me to answer.

"I-I..uh..n-nothing! I'm not up to anything." I finally answered, "Why do you ask?"

Cloud's cheeks flushed, this boy sure blushed a lot. I found it cute though, just shows how nervous and innocent he is.

"Well, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go out or something."

"You mean, like a date?" I smiled.

"Well...yeah."

I smiled, I've been asked out on dates before, but not in such a nice way. They were mostly guys cornering me and trying to be smooth. I never said no, I thought I'd give them a chance, but I was mostly disappointed.

"Ok, it's a date." I said. I kissed Cloud on the cheek. "See you in two days, Cloud."

I walked around Cloud and back to mine and Zack's apartment. It took all my strength to not look back at Cloud to see his reaction to my small kiss, and I succeeded. When I got home I stood with my back to the door and a dreamy smile on my face. I may not know anything about Cloud, but something about him made my heart melt and my defenses fall. If I knew better, I'd say that I have a crush on him, but it was to soon to tell. My phone started ringing.

"Hello, Senna here." I said with a slight sigh in my voice.

"SEN! I got your message!" Zack yelled, "Congradulations little sister! I'm so proud of you! It seems like only yesterday you came into the Shinra building as a 3rd Class SOLDIER."

"Zack, stop before you cry." I laughed.

"Sorry, Sen. I'm just so excited! Maybe you and I can get to go on missions together."

"No offense, Zack, but I think that would be a bad idea."

"Yeah, you got a good point. I'd be worrying about you to much through the whole thing."

"Exactly. So when are you comming home?"

"To soon to tell yet, Sen. When I do come home though, I'll call you and let you know."

"Thank you, big bro."

"No problem, little sis."

"Alright, well, I got things to do, and so do you, so be safe." I said.

"You got it, bye Sen."

"Bye, Zack."

I hung up my phone and put it back into my pocket, I should have told Zack about me going out with Cloud on Sunday, but I didn't want to give him stress on a mission. I'm sure he'll find out one way or another, he is pretty popular with the ladies in Midgar. My excitement filled me again as I thought about what Cloud and I might do on Sunday. Not kissing or anything, I like taking things slow.

_Ohh Sunday, come faster won't you?_


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the long wait everybody, I just moved into college and had serious writers block for the LONGEST time, but pretty soon you'll all get to see pictures of Senna cuz I ordered a Graphics Tablet to draw with, and possibly write with. Anyways, ON WITH THE STORY!**

_**Chapter 3: It's a Surprise**_

Saturday night I managed to get at least four hours of sleep, which is enough to get me through the day. I was so excited for my date with Cloud today. I stood infront of my closet, throwing clothes all over the place. I'm normally not the kind to be worrying about what to wear, but I figured I'd try something new, and look like a young lady for once. Any other time I would just wear my usual clothes, but I don't think my red cropped halter top and baggy black shorts would cut it for a date. I didn't have many girly clothes, but sometimes my mother would send up a sun dress or something for me.

"Come on, I know I have one somewhere!" I yelled, "It's just a matter of remembering where I put it."

I pushed clothes out of the way as I dug deeper into my small closet. Behind my extra pair of boots was a cardboard box with my home address stamped onto it. I pulled it out of my closet and opened it. Inside was a light blue sundress that tied behind my back and neck. I stood up and held it against myself infront of my mirror.

"I suppose it's alright, maybe it'll look better on me."

I stripped off my clothes and pulled the dress over my head and tied the ribbons behind me. I examined myself in the mirror again and smoothed the fabric down. The last time I wore a dress I was just a little girl and it was my birthday. I took a deep breath and looked at the clock.

"Half an hour left. What am I gonna do for half an hour?" I asked myself, "Well it's not like I can go barefoot, better look for some decent shoes."

I went back into my closet to see if I had sandels or something. After clearing out my entire closet, I managed to find a pair of white sandels.

"There you are!"

I slipped on the, never worn, white flat sandles, and walked around my room in them. It felt weird having my toes showing, seeing as I'm used to wearing combat boots. I looked down at my pale white feet, my nails were cut short. Nothing is worse then long toe nails rubbing against your sock and inside of your boot, especially when you run into something and it breaks.

_Should I paint my toe nails? _

I pondered that thought for a moment, then decided against it. Nail painting was never my thing, mostly for the smell and the mess it would make, but also because I never saw the reason for it. I looked in the mirror again. My appearance looked ok, I knew I could have done something more, I just didn't know what. I blew a strand of hair away from my face and a lightbulb flashed in my head. I dove back into my, almost empty, closet and dug around the box that had the dress in it.

"A HA!"

Underneath the tissue paper was a ribbon, the same color as my dress. Originally it's meant to be used as an extension, incase one of the main ties is short or has ripped off. I'm going to put it to different use. I pulled my hair into a high pony tail and tied the ribbon around it. I shook my head back and forth to make sure my hair wouldn't fall out of the ribbon. Nice and secure. I checked the clock beside my bed. I still had five minutes to meet up with Cloud.

_Now where was I supposed to meet him at?_

**It was Saturday and I just finished my training. I was having a pretty good day, there was no sign of Hojo, Midgar was bright and sunny, and it was my first official day as a First Class SOLDIER. As I walked to the elevators, I started humming a random tune, shortly after, I began making up dance moves. I was having such a good day. When I got to the lobby, I saw a familar head of blonde spiky hair. **

**"Hey Cloud!" I yelled.**

**Cloud, at first, jumped by the sudden exclamation of his name, then turned and saw me waving like a loon in front of the elevator. He smiled and walked over to me.**

**"Looks like you're having a good day." He said.**

**"You, sir, have no idea."**

**We exchanged small talk for ten or so minutes, then Cloud made an outburst, well not exactly and outburst, but it was sudden.**

**"I forgot to tell you where and when to meet me." He said.**

**He was absolutely right. This entire time I was excited about tomorrow, but when tomorrow came, I would have no idea where I was going. Thank God I ran into him before I went home. Cloud handed a folded piece of paper to me.**

**"That's my number, in case something comes up and you can't make it. Just let me know it's you first, that way I don't get to confused."**

**"Ok, cool." I smiled, "So where are we meeting?"**

**"At the fountain outside of the building. Make sure to be there by four o'clock."**

**I put the paper in my pocket and nodded to Cloud. "I'll be there. Don't stand me up, ok?"**

**A smile formed onto Cloud's face. He leaned towards me and kissed me on the cheek. I felt the blood rush to my face and my legs went numb. Lucky for me I was leaning on one of the tables, so I didn't fall over on my face.**

**"I'd be crazy to stand you up. See you tomorrow."**

**I smiled and nodded my head. I didn't trust my tongue at this moment, it might make me say something amazingly stupid. Cloud walked towards the main doors of the Shinra building and disappeared from my sight. **

I tapped my hip where my phone usually is, an old habit that started once I started carrying a phone around with me, but considering I'm wearing a dress, I don't have any pockets to put it in.

"Well I have myself in a dilemma don't I?" I said to myself, "No pockets to put my phone in, and I'm sure as hell not going to carry a purse around."

I picked up my phone and sent out two messages. One to my brother, and the other to Cloud.

_Hey bro, not gonna have my phone on me today, don't ask for details. I'll fill you in later. Be safe. - Senna_

_Cloud, it's Senna. I'll meet you there in five minutes, I don't have any pockets for my phone. See you soon._

I turned my phone off, and put it back on my dresser. Before walking out my bedroom door I took one last look in the mirror. I looked some what like myself, but more girlish. I took a deep breath and rushed out of mine and Zack's apartment.

Never once in my life have I felt self conscious, I've always been proud of who I am and how I look, but today, I felt so out of place on the streets I've walked every day since I came to Midgar. It seemed like everybody was staring at me and it was driving me insane, but I held my head high and walked with confidence.

Once I got to the fountain, I saw no sign of Cloud. _Maybe I'm early._ I walked around the courtyard, hoping to find him somewhere, but I still couldn't find him. After awhile I gave up on walking around and sat down on the edge of the fountain. For the first time today I frowned.

"I should have known he'd stand me up." I sighed.

I covered my face with my hands, feeling ashamed for how stupid I've acted these past couple of days, and for thinking that...nevermind.

"What's a pretty thing like you doing all alone on a day like this?"

I know that voice, that calm, soothing, voice that made my heart skip a beat. I looked towards the source. There stood Cloud Strife. He didn't dress up like I did, but I'll admit, he looked breath taking. A dark blue t-shirt with black cargo pants. He managed to make a normal look appear completely hot.

_Don't blush, Senna. Don't blush._ I thought to myself.

I stood up and put my right hand on my hip. "You're late." I smiled, "Where have you been?"

Cloud smiled and took a step closer to me. He had his arm behind his back ever since he showed up. I glanced at his arm, then back to those beautiful blue eyes that entrance me everytime I see them. Cloud bowed his head and held out a single red rose to me. My earlier thoughts had left me and my cheeks flushed.

_He got me a flower? No, he got me a red rose._

I took the rose from his hand, being wary of the thorns, and smelled the flower. Cloud looked at me with a smile on his face and stood upright again. I took my eyes off the rose, and looked back at him.

"I find it hard to believe you're late because you were getting a rose. Do I get an explanation at all?"

Cloud shook his head and held his arm out to me. "It's a surprise."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: It's A Surprise (Part 2)

Cloud and I walked through the bustling streets of Midgar. Not much was going on on a Sunday afternoon, no surprise. We didn't exchange any words during our little stroll, Cloud kept his gaze directly in front, a smile still playing on his face. I kept wondering what he was up to, but I couldn't think of anything.

"So, what's this surprise?" I asked.

Cloud was silent for a moment, as if he was thinking about whether or not he whould tell me, or maybe he was just ignoring me. I was about to repeat my question, but then he spoke up.

"The surprise is exactly what it is, a surprise."

"I don't get a hint?" I asked.

"Nope."

I sighed and made a pouting face. I heard Cloud chuckle next to me.

"Don't worry," He said, "we're almost there."

"Almost where?"

"You'll see when we get there."

We walked in silence for a few more minutes, then Cloud stopped. I looked at him and he nodded to the right. I looked, all I saw was an abandoned building and an alley way. I looked back at Cloud, not hiding my confusion. He glanced at me, then back at the building.

"Don't judge a book by its cover." He said.

"Cloud, I've been in abandoned buildings before."

Cloud shook his head, released his arm from my grasp, and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a red bandanna. I looked cautiously at it. Being blindfolded wasn't my thing. Cloud saw the look on my face and went into a panic mode.

"No no no! I'm not going to rape you or anything like that! I promise you can trust me." He said, "Like I said, it's a surprise, and I don't want the gaps in the wall to give it away."

The sincerity in his eyes told me that he was telling the truth. I knew that Cloud could never do me any harm, but I don't give trust out to easily, anybody who does is in for a world of hurt when that trust is broken. I glanced to the side, then walked closer to Cloud. I looked him in the eyes, my gaze telling him that if he tries to pull anything stupid, I'll kick his ass. Cloud nodded and I turned my back to him. Slowly, the blindfold came over my eyes, and Cloud tied it behind my head. There were no spots for me to peek out of, I was completely blind.

"Ok Cloud, I'm trusting you to be my eyes. Don't throw me through a wall." I joked.

Cloud chuckled, "Don't worry, I won't let you get hurt."

I felt Cloud's hands lightly grab a a hold of my shoulders. His touch sent electricity through my body, an odd sensation for me, but I liked it. Pushing me slightly, I walked forward towards the abandoned building. Cloud stopped me and let go of my bare shoulders. His footsteps stopped in front of me, he grabbed my hand, and lead me forward.

"There's a pile of rocks here, watch your step." He said, "Or would you rather me carry you inside?"

I smiled, "Thank you for the offer, Cloud, but I think I can manage."

With my hand still attached to Cloud's, I slowly, and shakily, stepped on the broken concrete and into the room. My sandals clicked as I stepped down, telling me I was on a hard wood floor. The room smelled of dust and mold, making my nose cringe. Cloud switched the hand holding mine and put his free arm behind my shoulder.

"Ok, start walking." He said in my ear.

Slowly, we started to walk forward. Small stones were crushed under our feet and our footsteps seemed to echo around the old building. I heard water dripping from somewhere, and birds flying around. Cloud never let go of me, he guided me through the invisible structure, leading me to this secret area that I was not allowed to know about. Cloud stopped me and let go of my shoulder. He held into both of my hands and pulled me forward.

"You're gonna feel a difference in the floor texture." He said, "We're at the very center, and this is where the surprise is."

I nodded my head, and let him lead me the rest of the way. The floor went from hard, rough, wood, to a soft grass feeling. I felt long blades of grass tickle my ankles as I walked past them.

"Ok, stop here." Cloud said.

I did as instructed by the guy I was trusting to be my eyes. He walked behind me and untied the bandanna. Still keeping it over my eyes, he leaned closer to my ear.

"Are you ready for your surprise?" He whispered.

His breath sent a shiver down my spine. It's unnatural to get these feelings from a guy that I've only known for a few days, no matter how breath taking he is.

"Yes, I'm ready." I smiled.

The darkness from the bandanna was replaced by bright sunlight and a multitude of colors. I stared wide eyed at the scene around me. Cloud and I stood smack in the middle of a beautiful flower garden. It wasn't a large garden, but it was spectacular in itself. The number of different flowers was more then I could count.

"Was it worth the wait?" Cloud asked beside me.

"It's amazing, this place is amazing." I said, ignoring his question, "How did you find this?"

"I actually found it the day before I met you. I was doing rounds and I thought I heard someone talking in here. They sounded kinda frantic so I came in to check, and I found this place." He said.

I looked at him, "This was totally worth the wait."

Cloud smiled, and sat down. I sat next to him, and set the rose he gave me, beside me.

"So, Cloud, I have a preposition for you." I said.

"Alright."

"I want to know more about you. So, I'll ask you a question, then you can ask me a question." I said, "Sound fair?"

Cloud looked at me and nodded his head. He had a look of eagerness in his eyes. Like he wanted to know more about me.

"Ok, so where are you from?" I asked.

"Just some backwater town called Nibelheim." He answered.

"Ahh, a Country Boy huh?"

Cloud chuckled, "Ok, so where are you from?"

"I'm from another backwater town called Gongaga." I said proudly.

Cloud started laughing the second after I pronounced my home town. I lightly glared at him.

"What's so funny?" I said sternly.

"Gongaga is just such a weird name." He laughed.

"Yeah, well so is Nibelheim. I mean, who came up with that name?"

Cloud smiled and light pushed my shoulder. I pushed him back, and it turned into a game, see who could push the other the hardest. A silly game, I know, but it was fun for the time being, until we started asking questions again.

"Alright, next question." I said, "Do you have any siblings?"

"Nope, only child. What about you?"

"I have an older brother, he's in SOLDIER also."

Cloud tensed up. I laughed and put my hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry. Zack is cool. He's funny and...well I can't really say smart, but he hasn't gotten himself killed yet, so smartish. If it wasn't for the two years between us, we'd be twins. No joke, we look alike and act alike."

A long exhale escaped Cloud as he relaxed. The questions continued for what seemed like hours, as Cloud and I got to know each other better. This was another first for me, I felt as if I could tell Cloud anything. I told him everything about me, my past, my hometown. Hell, I even told him everything about Zack. It was so weird to be able to open up to someone like this, but I felt comfortable doing it. Before we knew it, it was already sunset. Cloud stood up and helped me up also.

"So, do I have to be blindfolded while we walk out too, or am I allowed to use my eyes?" I joked.

Cloud pretended to think about my question, a smile on his handsome features, and his hand on his chin.

"Well, I suppose I can let you know the way out, as long as you don't tell anybody about this place." He said.

"Cross my heart and hope to die." I smiled.

The streets of Midgar were illuminated by the few streetlights provided in this part of the city. Nobody was around, which could mean one of two things. Either they all had work tomorrow, or the infantrymen on duty tonight shooed everybody to their houses early. Cloud held his hand out to me. I grabbed a hold of it and laced my fingers with his.

"Want me to walk you home?" He asked.

I smiled at him, "That sounds nice."

I led him back to mine and Zack's apartment. The time was going on 11:30PM, still early, but not early enough. Cloud and I stood at the front door in silence. He looked sheepishly at his feet and scuffed his boots on the cement step.

"Do you wanna come in?" I asked, "Zack is off on a mission and it's just me here."

A tint of blush came onto Cloud's cheeks. I giggled at how cute he looked when he's shy. He nodded his head and I opened the door to let him in. I locked the door and slipped my sandals off, glad to finally be rid of the ridiculous shoes. Cloud kept his boots on. I didn't mind, Zack did it all the time, and we had a disgusting dark green carpet anyway, so it was easy to clean. I had a nervous feeling suddenly come over me. I've never had a guy come over while Zack wasn't home, actually, I've never had a guy over PERIOD. This was the first time ever a guy had been in this apartment besides Zack.

"So, uhh..make yourself at home. I'm going to get changed."

I hurridly walked to my room and quickly closed the door behind me. I took a moment to steady my breathing, then changed into my normal red halter, and black shorts. I stayed barefoot, my feet were killing me from those damn sandals that I would never in my life wear again. My phone still sat where I left it when I rushed out the door this afternoon, I turned it on and it came to life with messages, most were from Zack, but the other few were from my parents. I read through them, then put my phone back in my pocket. I walked back into the living room, were Cloud still stood beside the couch. He looked so uncomfortable that I almost felt bad for inviting him in.

"If you didn't want to come in, you could have said no." I said in a hushed tone.

Cloud shrugged his shoulders, "I did want to come in, I'm just afraid of your brother showing up and mauling me for being alone with his little sister."

A small laugh escaped me.

"Don't worry, Zack's not coming home for awhile yet. He left me a voice mail saying he'd be later than he originally thought. You're safe."

Cloud relaxed and sat down with a 'Thank God'. I rocked back and forth on my feet, then had a sudden idea.

"Are you thirsty? Or hungry. Maybe both?" I asked.

Before he could answer, a loud growl escaped from his stomach. Cloud's face turned red and he looked away from me.

"I thought so, well I'll get you some water first. Hopefully there's still some left overs in the fridge."

I walked across the room and into the kitchen. There were some dirty dishes in the sink from my breakfast this morning that I hadn't taken the time to wash yet, but those could wait until later. I opened the cupboard with the cups in it. I took two glasses off the shelf, one slipped out of my grasp and shattered on the counter. One of the broken shards bounced off the counter and embedded itself into my forearm.

"Ah! Dammit!" I cursed.

Cloud came rushing into the kitchen after hearing the crash, and saw me grasp my bleeding arm, muttering a series of curse words that would make Zack's ears bleed. He walked over to me in three long strides, and took my bloody hand off my arm.

"Do you have a first aid kit here?" He asked.

"Yeah, it's in the bathroom under the sink." I replied.

"Alright, come on."

Cloud lightly touched my elbow and led me to the bathroom. I sat down on the counter next to the sink as he fumbled through the first aid kit. He pulled out a bottle of peroxide, some cotton, and a bandage. He turned to me.

"Let me see your arm."

I held out my bleeding arm to him and he examined the cut. He grabbed a pair of tweezers that were in the first aid kit, and pulled the glass shard from my skin. I winced as it rubbed against the inside layers and let out more blood. Cloud held my arm over the sink and poured the peroxide on the cut. I cursed as the medicine cleaned my wound, but stung like hell. I was told to hold the cotton on my cut, to soak up the remaining blood, then Cloud wrapped the bandage around my arm.

"Are you always this clumsy?" he asked.

"No, that glass decided it wanted to fly and hurt me at the same time." I huffed.

Cloud chuckled and put the items back into the first aid kit. He looked at my arm and made sure the bandage was securely wrapped around the cut.

"Do I get a lolly pop for being such a good patient?" I joked.

"Sorry, fresh out."

Cloud looked back up at me, except his face was closer to mine then last time, so close that our noses were almost touching. We both blushed, but neither of us moved away. I reached up and lightly touched his cheek with the back of my hand. I looked into his blue eyes, as he looked into mine. Our lips got closer to each others. Just as the gap was about to be filled, my phone loudly went off, making us jump and move away from each other. I hopped off the counter and took my phone out of my pocket. Zack's name was on the caller ID. I looked back to Cloud, who was looking else where in the room.

"It's Zack. I'm sorry." I said, and walked out of the bathroom.

The conversation was short between my brother and I. He usually checks up on me when he's away, to make sure I'm not causing trouble or out past my curfew.

"Ok, talk to ya later bro."

I flipped my phone shut and slipped it back into my pocket. Cloud stood in the hallway, that shy look on his features again.

"I'm gonna go. I got work tomorrow, so.."

"Yeah..ok. I understand. I should probably get some sleep to." I said.

Cloud nodded and walked to the front door. I walked after him, just as he unlocked the door and walked out.

"Hey, Cloud." I said.

He looked back at me, and I lightly pecked him on the lips. A short brief kiss, but I couldn't stand the remaining tension left from the bathroom episode. His face turned all sorts of shades of red. My cheeks were also blazing, but I still smiled at him.

"Thank you. I had a really nice time today." I said.

Cloud gulped, "Not a problem. Maybe we could do it again sometime?"

"Yeah, definitely."

He nodded, and slowly walked out of the apartment, and I closed the door behind him. I stood there long then I should have, but I was stuck in a daydream of the entire day, all the events leading up to that little kiss that still had my heart beating. I closed my eyes and rested my head against the cold wood of he door.

"Ok, Senna. It's safe to admit it now." I said, "You're crushing...badly."


	5. AUTHOR'S NOTE

_**I don't think I told any of you about my plans for this story. If I ever get over my writers block for Chapter 5, I plan to follow the Crisis Core story line, not to a T, because that would just be boring and things wouldn't fit into place, SO Here's what I have planned. **_

_**This is the first of THREE stories. Yes I'm making this fanfiction a trilogy. There would be four, but never have I played the ORIGINAL Final Fantasy VII because I only own a Playstation 2 and nobody I know/knew who has/had the original Playstation had Final Fantasy VII. So for this series of fanfiction I'm basing them in:**_

_**1. Crisis Core (Obviously)**_

_**2. Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children**_

_**3. Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII**_

_**I would LOVE to have four parts to this fanfiction, but my only other options would be to: **_

_**A.) Write my own plot **_

_**B.) Include Kingdom Hearts**_

_**I would write my own plot, but things would get to out of hand and the characters would become OOC (Out Of Character, for those who don't know). Now if I included Kingdom Hearts...I would have to use Kingdom Hearts 2, because that's the only Kingdom Hearts I've beaten more than once. **_

_**If ANYBODY has ideas for a fourth part that works without the characters becoming OOC, PLEASE PLEASE LET ME KNOW! **_


	6. Chapter 5

_**This is my own chapter that way Senna has her own personal adventures instead of tagging along with the Cannon Characters all the time. Sorry about how long it took to get out, I kept rewriting this chapter because I didn't like how it flowed out. Enjoy :)**_

_**Chapter 5: Hell Assignment **_

I sat with my forehead pressed against the helicopter window. Flying was never my thing, but Shinra would never invest in motor bikes for SOLDIER, so flying is our only other option, much to my dislike. The sound of the blades beating in the air gave my stomach some comfort, but there was one thing that would not allow it to settle.

_The briefing room was empty, except for myself. I was supposed to meet Sephiroth here for details on my newly assigned mission. All I knew was that I'd be acting as a body guard. I spun in circles on one of the black computer chairs as some form of entertainment, my childish mind getting the better of me. I heard the door slide open and in walked my mentor. _

"_You're late." I said._

"_There's a difference between late and caught up." Sephiroth coolly replied. _

_I stood up and faced him, "You should remember that when I come in 'late', Sephiroth." _

_My comment earned me a look that said, "say that again and you'll regret it." I awkwardly scratched the back of my head and looked around the room like there was something interesting there. _

"_So, my mission. What's the objective? Who, or what, am I guarding?"_

_Not one word came from my mentor. He gave me that same blank stare he usually has when he's on an important assignment. I waved my hand in front of his face to see if he was still alive. He forcefully grabbed a hold of my wrist and gave me the most serious look I've ever seen._

"_Remember, you already agreed to partake in this mission." He said._

"_Yes, I know."_

"_And you can't back out now."_

"_What's going on?"_

_The Briefing room door opened and two shadows covered me. My stomach dropped and I swear I heard a gunshot._

'_No no no... please be a joke...'_

A bony hand on my shoulder brought me out of my thoughts.

"Don't worry, my dear, we're almost there."

"Careful, Hojo, she looks like she's gonna puke."

Professor Hojo removed his hand from my shoulder and returned to his uptight posture. The man across from him was his student, Alexander Krobic. A tall, skinny, boy with no muscular structure what so ever. If it wasn't for his flaming head of red hair and green eyes, this kid could be mistaken for a Hojo clone.

This mission is only supposed to last for three days, but something in my gut said that it would be a lot longer than that. Zack didn't know about this mission et, and neither did Cloud. Knowing my brother, he would barge right into Director Lazard's office and demand I get taken off this assignment. I closed my eyes and listened to the blades again.

_Please, time, move faster for me._

Dozing off into a dreamless sleep, I could have sworn I heard Professor Hojo and Alexander whisper my name.

The helicopter jerked me out of my black dream. I looked out the window and saw our destination below us. The abandoned city of Gothel. When I had just joined SOLDIER, the reactor here had a malfunction and exploded, killing off all the citizens and wildlife, leaving only a desolate wasteland that had no hopes of ever being re-inhabited.

"Such a beautiful sight." Alexander awed, "So full of specimens for study."

I gawked at him. "Full of specimens? This is a wasteland and nobody has lived in for years. The only things you can study here are dirt, ash, and rust."

The two scientists laughed at my outburst. I glared at the both of them, fighting against every muscle in my body to avoid beating the snot out of them.

Due to the severely high levels of Mako radiation, anyone that comes here is required to wear an air mask. With mine tightly secured over my mouth and nose, I jumped out of the helicopter and scanned the area, no matter how unnecessary it was. Hojo and Alexander followed after me, with two white bags over their shoulders. I could see the excitement in their eyes, as if they were going to find something amazing. They looked at me, and waited for me to say my line.

"All's clear." I said.

"Are you sure?" Hojo sneered.

I clenched my fists by my sides.

"Positive. It's a wasteland. The only danger is the Mako."

"You didn't even look around." Alexander said, "You're about as educated as your brother, and that's not saying much." 

My sight tinted red and I shoved Alexander against the side of the helicopter, my arm under his chin, cutting off his air. He struggled against me as his lungs got cut off from the precious oxygen from his mask.

"I don't give a damn what you say about me or what I do, but I swear on my life, if you **ever** insult my brother again, I will not hesitate to cut open your throat and watch you die a slow, painful, death. Do you understand me?" I hissed.

Alexander nodded his head as best he could, and dropped to the ground when I lowered my arm. I glared at his coughing form as he slowly got back to his feet. When I turned around, I caught a glimpse of something I wish I hadn't seen in Hojo's eyes. It wasn't anger or disappointment like a usual superiority figure would have had, no, Hojo's expression was one of amusement, like I had done something he wanted me to do. I hid the shock from my eyes, and walked towards the destroyed town.

"The reactor is this way."

I heard their footsteps behind me, and a long sigh escaped my lips. This was gonna be a very long day.

**It's soo short I know and I'm soo sorry for this long wait for the next chapter. Since I started that Naruto fanfic and I'm in my 2nd Quarter of college, things just got so hectic. Expecially when finals came around..I swear I've lost so much sleep it's ridiculous...Anyway, I'll try to have chapter 6 up ASAP! You guys are awesome for reading :) **


	7. Chapter 6

**This story would have came out sooner, but somehow the file that I was half way done with, got deleted...So I was forced to start over. Anywho, VLC2010 posted some reviews saying that she was confused when I go into flashbacks. So to VLC2010 I say, THANK YOU for telling me that you got confused, that lets me know that I have to fix something to make the story easier to read. So now I'm gonna tell you all, when I got into flashbacks the font is gonna be bold and italic. I simply refused to do the whole *~*FLASHBACK*~* thing..only because in real novels, the author doesn't do that, they change the font and that's that. **

**Now on with the story :)**

_**Chapter 6: The Survivor**_

Walking to the reactor, you wouldn't know if the ground you were walking on was dirt, ash, or the crushed remains of the former residents. I felt sick to my stomach just being here. We came to the broken down entrance, the doors barely on the frame, and scorch marks all around it.

The two scientists stopped behind me, I looked back at them.

"Wait here." I said.

Being the SOLDIER escort, it was my job to make sure they came, and left, unharmed, even if I have to die to get them out.

_Much to my displeasure..._ I bitterly thought.

I walked into the unstable structure cautiously. One hand always stayed by the handle of my sword, incase a fiend happened to wander in. Dust and ash littered the floor, there were no footprints anywhere. I stood up straight and faced the entrance.

"All clear. Follow my tracks, and don't make any loud noises." I said.

I walked up the rusted stairs, my boots leaving tracks in the dust. Hojo and Alexander walked silently behind me.

"So, what are we looking for?" I asked.

"You'll know it when you see it." Alexander said.

"So I'm supposed to just walk around this entire place?"

I got no reply from the scientists. I wiped a strand of hair away from my eyes, and continued forward. After half an hour of walking around, almost, the entire structure, we came across nothing that was suitable for scientific testing. I was about to call the mission off, when I heard footsteps in the direction to my right. I put my arm up, silently telling Hojo and Alexander to stop, and walked in the direction of the noise. I grabbed a hold of the handle to my blade, my eyes straight forward and refusing to blink even once. I stopped and listened closely to the footsteps, trying to get an idea of how big this thing was.

_Short strides, light steps. Can't be a large fiend. Could be a Viper Dog trying to be sneaky, but then I would hear others with it, so that can't be it. Of course, it could be something dangerous..and if it is, I should dispose of it quickly. _

I looked back at Hojo and Alexander.

"I don't know what it is, but I'm gonna go get rid of it. Now... if I say to run, then you run. No questions asked, no excuses, just high tail it out of here as quickly as you can. Got it?" I said.

They nodded, and I nodded back at them. I slowly walked in the direction the footsteps were coming from, trying to match their rhythm so I don't get caught. They seemed to be moving away from me, instead of towards me like a predator would do.

_What are you?_

I turned a corner and looked at the ground for a split second.

"...wait a second.." I mumbled.

I crouched down and looked closer at the footprints I found. They were fresh, but that wasn't the point. They were human footprints.

_This is impossible..there's no way that anybody could survive here..not with the high levels of mako radiation! _

What got me most was, the size of the foot wasn't adult, or even young adult, they were little kid's feet. A child was running around here, alone, and some how alive. I looked back the way I came, where I hoped Hojo and Alexander were still standing. Is this why they wanted to come here? Because there was a survivor from the blast? I looked back in front of me and glanced around.

"Hello?" I whispered, "Are you there?"

Silence.

"I'm not here to hurt you. Are you ok?"

The footsteps started to walk towards me. I stayed crouched down, that way I didn't scare off the child that was here.

_Either way, be on your guard, Senna...if this kid can actually survive here, who knows what they're capable of.._

From down the hallway, I saw two little pale legs emerge from the darkness. They were dirty and skinny, but the legs of a child non-the-less.

"It's ok, you can come closer." I said.

The kid walked out of the shadows, and into the dim light. A little girl with blond curls and paper white skin. She covered her eyes with her hands, which were browned with dust and ask, and seemed to be cut and bleeding.

"What's your name?" I asked.

She walked closer to me, she looked around the age of seven..maybe eight. As she got closer, I saw numerous scars on her person, and a few open wounds.

"Can you talk?" 

She shook her head.

"But you can understand me?"

She nodded her head. I sighed in relief, at least she understood me. She stopped right in front of me. I was eye level with her, staring in shock at her face. The half that I could see clearly was fine, just a little dirty, but the side she kept darkened was glowing green, and cut to the bone. I reached out and gently grabbed her arm.

"I'm here to help you ok? Is there anybody else here with you?"

She shook her head no.

"_**You'll know it when you see it.**_"

I bit my lip. Now I understood why Hojo wanted to come here. He knew there was somebody, somehow, alive here, and if I knew any better, I'd say he wanted to experiment on her, dissect her and see how she's still alive. I wanted to know that myself, but there was no way in hell I was gonna let that mad scientist operate on such a young girl. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a candy bar, I brought it with me incase I needed to munch on something to keep me quiet, but she needed it more then I did.

"Here, are you hungry?"

I tore off the wrapping, and handed a chunk of the chocolate bar to her. She snatched it out of my hand and chowed it down in a matter of seconds. I gave her another piece, and another, until the chocolate bar was gone.

_What am I supposed to do? This is a kid..I can't let Hojo treat her like some science experiment..but I can't just leave her here either.. Grrr...Zack where are you when I need you?_

"There she is."

I cringed. Hojo stood right behind me, even though I told him to stay put. I stood up and stepped in front of the girl.

"She's just a little girl..she can't even talk." I said.

"Good, that means she won't scream as much." Alexander said.

I made a fist at my side. These men were sick..

"You can't operate on a little girl!"

"Look at her, she's not a normal girl. Half her face is missing, and glowing! And with the amount of Mako radiation, she should be long dead by now. How can we let something like this go to waste?" Hojo argued.

"I'm just as amazed as you are that she's alive, but she needs medical treatment to get better, if you operate on her then she's gonna die!"

Alexander stepped right up in my face, glaring at me. I pushed the girl directly behind me, refusing to let him get to her.

"You're job is to make sure we're safe, and that we get what we came for. She is what we came for, and if you oppose us, then you're betraying Shinra and automatically failing this mission."

I clenched my teeth and looked away from him. I joined SOLDIER to protect people.. to make sure they wouldn't get hurt, or die. With that goal of mine, I'm also supposed to follow orders...and make sure ever mission is a success. Everything about this mission goes against my morals, but I'm at a crossroads.. I either hand this girl over to Hojo and his dog, or I betray Shinra and protect her...

_This is so unfair!_

"So what is it going to be, Senna Fair? Are you going to hand the girl over? Or are you going to betray us?" Hojo sneered.

I closed my eyes and sighed. The little girl grabbed my hand tightly. I didn't look at her, my eyes stayed tightly shut, but I held onto her hand also. I opened my eyes, and glared at the scientists in front of me.

"She stays with me, until we get back to Midgar. After that...you can take her.." I said.

Hojo smiled and turned to walk away. Alexander followed soon after. I looked at the little girl, she smiled at me, but in her eyes was fear. I smiled back at her, and gave her hand a little tug.

"Come on.." I said.

We walked after Hojo and Alexander, following our tracks back to the entrance of the reactor. I was ashamed of myself for agreeing to hand her over for experiments, and I would regret it for the rest of my life, but more so, my hatred for Hojo and Alexander tripled for making me go through with this.

Upon reaching the entrance, the little girl stopped. I looked at her, but she was looking at the ground. Her grip on my hand became tighter, and stronger...so much stronger. I winced and tried to get her to let go of my hand.

"Professor!" Alexander yelled.

There was a sickening snap, as the bones in my left hand were crushed. My jaw clenched tight, wanting to open and let out the blood curdling scream that was rising in my throat. A deep growl was coming from the little girl and she appeared to be getting taller, and more muscular. I ripped my hand out of her grasp and jumped back, pulling my sword off my back. She looked up, her eyes glowing red and her skin appeared to be melting away. I let down my guard! I thought that an injured little girl would be harmless, boy was I wrong. I took a few steps away from her, my blade in front of me and my eyes forward.

"You two, get out of here!" I yelled.

"But the girl!" Alexander yelled.

"The girl isn't a girl! And she's going to kill us all if we don't get out of here NOW! I'll be right behind you." I said.

They ran out of the reactor, yelling at the guy in the helicopter to start it up. I slowly backed away from the monster forming in front of me. Debating on whether or not to make a run for it, or fight this thing off while they got away. The girl monster was getting bigger with every second, as a SOLDIER you're trained to not run from anything, but I knew that I had no chance against something this big and strong. I glanced at the door, then took off running. The monster roared behind me, and something hit me. I felt blood run down my side, but I didn't stop. The helicopter lifted off the ground, and I ran faster. The door opened, and I jumped as high as I could, landing halfway inside. The copilot pulled me the rest of the way in and shut the door. I grabbed my side, and my vision went black...

**How was this chapter? Lol I had such a bad case of writers block. **


	8. Chapter 7

**Ok, I have a slight idea of where I'm going with this story :) And is it bad that I already know how I'm going to end it? Haha! I also found out that if I listen to the song I was listening to when I thought up the story, it helps my ideas flow a lot better haha. I like to make music videos in my head...sue me lol. The song I was listening to when I thought of The Hero's Sister was: Hand of Sorrow by Within Temptation. Give it a listen :) See if you like it.**

_**Chapter 7: Just Some Brotherly Love**_

I woke up a few days later in the infirmary. It wasn't a pretty site either, I panicked and started ripping the IV's out of my arm. The doctor had to inject me with a muscle relaxer to calm me down...twice. My panic mode was probably because of the adrenaline rush I was in when I jumped back into the helicopter. When I did finally calm down, I was told that there was a huge gash on my left side, and that the bones in my left hand were severely crushed. I already knew about my hand, but as for the gash in my side...well lets just say I didn't think it was as bad as it is. My stitches start at my hip and end near my breast. The helicopter pilot said that the door to the reactor was blown off, and a part of it hit me. I was in critical condition for the first two days, scared the hell out of poor Zack, I got my ear chewed out for that too. He stops by every day to see me, before and after work, and Sephiroth stopped by every now and again. I didn't remember much from that mission, the doctors say it was due to severe blood loss and shock.

A light knock pulled me out of my thoughts. I looked over and smiled. In the doorway stood a familiar pale skinned blonde.

"Hey, Cloud. Long time no see." I said.

He gave me a small smile, then walked over next to my bed. He pulled a small vase with three red roses in it, and set it on the table next to me.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"I'm alright. They're mainly keeping me here to keep an eye on my side wound, incase the mako severely infected it or something." I said.

Cloud nodded his head.

"You wanna see it?" I asked.

"What?"

"I've got so many stitches I swear I could be mistaken for a teddy bear." I laughed.

Cloud chuckled, "Ok sure."

I pulled my hospital gown up slowly, didn't want to give Cloud a peep show or anything like that. He stared wide eyed at the stitches, or at least I hope that's what he was staring at. He reached out and lightly touched my stitches. I jumped as his fingers made contact with my damaged skin.

"Sorry." He said.

I pulled my gown back down, and laid back on my pillows.

"It's alright. I would have done the same thing haha."

"What happened on that mission?" Cloud asked, "I mean, people are talking about what happened, but you know how rumors go."

My gaze dropped to my hands resting on my lap. I wished that I could remember what all had happened.

"I don't really remember..I know that I was supposed to keep Hojo and Alexander safe in the reactor...but everything else is a blur." I said.

"Is it permanent memory loss?"

"It could be, my air mask fell off while I was running to the helicopter, so the doctors think that, along with blood loss, the radiation messed with my memory."

Cloud's gaze dropped to my hands. He looked nervous.

"What's the matter, Cloud?" I asked.

"It's just what everybody is saying." He said.

"What are they saying?"

Cloud shifted his feet, and looked elsewhere around the room. I got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach about the rumors he's been hearing.

"Cloud?" 

He looked at my face, his blue eyes locked onto mine.

"They're saying that you betrayed SOLDIER." He said.

"Betrayed? How could they say such a thing? Never would I **ever** betray SOLDIER! Never!" I yelled.

"Senna, calm down." Cloud said with a pleading look on his face, "I don't want you to open up your stitches."

I closed my eyes and took a few deep, calming, breaths. I may not remember much from that mission, but I know for a fact that I would never even consider betraying SOLDIER, or the Shinra Electric Company. Why would people say such a horrible thing? I looked back to Cloud.

"You don't believe them...do you?" I asked.

"No, I don't believe them." He said, "After everything you told me, the reason why you joined SOLDIER in the first place, I'd never believe that you'd try to betray it."

I smiled at him, "Thank you, Cloud."

He smiled back at me.

After an hour or two, Cloud left, poor guy had the night shift and needed to get some sleep. I kept looking at the roses he left for me, and thinking back on the date we had. I knew it was way to soon for that kiss, or even to soon for me to like him the way that I do. I'm not saying I love him, I know that it's _**way**_ to soon for _**that**_.

_Just a crush. That's all._

I closed my eyes and laid my head back, reminiscing about how soft his lips were. I smiled at the memory.

"Sen!"

"Ahhh!"

I nearly fell off my bed as my brother loudly made his way into my room, a huge smile on his face. He sat down on the chair next to me, and kept smiling at me. I looked away for a second, then back to him.

"Zack..you're freaking me out here...why are you looking at me like that?" I asked.

"Oh no reason." He said.

I rolled my eyes. I knew it was bogus..there was a reason, but he was gonna make me dig for it. I sighed and stared at him, searching his eyes for any sign of what he could be thinking, but alas, I found nothing in his blue orbs. Eventually, he reached over and poked my forehead, that large grin still on his face.

"You're crushin on somebody, aren't ya?" He said.

My face flushed red, I smacked his hand away, and looked towards the wall. Zack burst out laughing, falling backwards off the chair. My face turned even redder, if that was possible.

"I knew it!" Zack gasped, "Just by the look on your face when I walked in here."

"What look?" I said, "I didn't have no look."

"Sure, whatever you say, Sen."

Zack looked at the vase, his smile getting bigger.

"And who were these from? Somebody I should know about?" He teased.

"NO!" I yelled.

"Ohhhh so you have a boyfriend?"

"N-No! It's not like that!"

Zack scooted into my bed with me, his arm over my shoulder. I knew what he was doing, he was going to try to get information out of me about Cloud. Thanks to Sephiroth, I can keep an amazing poker face when I need to.

"So, what's his name?" Zack asked.

"If I told you that, then I'd be making it easy on you."

"Hmm..very true." Zack nodded, "Alright, new approach. Are you dating him?"

"No."

"Have you gone out with him?"

"Maybe."

Zack put his finger on his chin. I was waiting for him to put two and two together. He knows I carry my phone around with me everywhere I go, but the one time I didn't have it was on my date with Cloud. Thank God for me that I got most of the brains that he didn't get. Zack snapped his fingers, then pointed at me.

"Where did you guys go?"

"For my health, Zack, can't you just ask me these questions some other time?" I asked.

"Nope. Has to be now."

I groaned.

"Come on now, Sen. What kind of brother would I be if I let you keep secrets from me?"

"The greatest big brother ever!"

"...Ouch, Senna. That hurts." Zack pouted.

He got off my bed and sat back in the chair, his head down and arms crossed. I sighed.

"Oh Zack..you know I'm kidding." I said.

No reply.

"Zack?"

Silent as a stone.

"Yo, brother! Hello?"

I leaned over as far as I could to get a glimpse at his face, but he moved his head further down. I glared at him and leaned over more.

"Zack, come on..answer me!"

He looked up, a smile on his face...a devious smile on his face. I widened my eyes and moved back towards the wall. He stood up, arms still crossed, and the devious smile still on his face.

"What?" I asked.

"I'm sure somebody saw you with a guy. I'll just ask them." He said.

"Zack!"

Zack started walking out the door, I got out of bed, wincing at the pain in my side. He looked back at me and rushed back over, putting me back into bed.

"Senna, you're gonna open your stitches." He said.

I huffed and crossed my arms. Zack sighed and put his hand on my head.

"Alright, Sen, you can have your secrets." He said, "But, you have to promise to let me meet him if you two get serious."

I blushed, "Zack!"

He ruffled up my air and laughed.

"Promise me." He said.

"Fine fine I promise! Now stop messing up my hair would ya.."

Zack smiled, then stood up straight.

"I gotta go ok." He said, "Got something I gotta take care of."

"Got a girlfriend?"

This time Zack blushed, and rushed out of my room, leaving me laughing. He could hound me all he wanted about Cloud now, it just gave me permission to hound him about his possible girlfriend. I guess it was one of those moments where I'm glad my brother and I are so close.

**Ok, things went very slow paced..sorry about that. Halfway through this story I had problems coming up with ideas. Drama with my boyfriend and whatever else things that you don't need to know about haha. Anyway, it's a decent length chapter and I don't know how you think it is, so leave a review and let me know how I can improve. You guys are awesome for reading!**


	9. Chapter 8

**Another thanks to VLC2010 for the reviews :) It's nice to know that you like how I'm writing this fanfiction haha. Anyway, thanks to youtube, I found a full Crisis Core walk through, so now I can fit things into place easier. I have a basic idea of how Zack will find out that Cloud is Senna's..guy friend lol. So when that time comes, I'll be switching between Senna's, Zack's, and Cloud's point of view. When that time comes I'll put their names in parenthesis like this: (Senna) (Zack) (Cloud). Got it? Ok good :) LETS GO!**

_**Chapter 8: Head Pains**_

It's been a month since I got out of the infirmary. My stitches were removed and, thanks to some materia magic, my gash is healed up nicely and my hand is no longer broken. Sephiroth threw me back into rehabilitation training, which is one step down from my normal training. I may be a 1st, but I still accept him as my mentor.

I've been talking to Cloud a lot lately, whether it's when I pass him in the hall, or I sneak out of the house to catch him on his nightly rounds. Most times we'll even send messages over the phone. My crush is growing more and more. Zack has been on my case about it, but I've also been on his case about this girl he goes to see almost every day, usually mumbling something about a flower wagon. He has been worrying me though, Zack. Shortly after getting out of the infirmary, I was told that Angeal had abandoned SOLDIER also. What that must have done to my brother is beyond me, but I've been by his side through almost everything, I wasn't going to abandon him now.

Zack walked in the door, and straight to his room. I sadly watched him. I missed how happy my brother used to be, but with all this stuff going on, it's really no surprise that he's so down in the dumps now. I tried almost everything I could do to cheer him up, but I could only get a small smile and a pat on the head from him. Zack had his moments where he'd seem like his old self, and I was grateful for those, but it still didn't seem right.

I sat back in the couch and closed my eyes. It was around nine at night, but it felt like it was five in the morning...I was so tired.

_There was a light knock on my door. I opened my eyes and walked to it. _

"_Cloud?" _

_There he stood, uniform on, helmet on, and his gun over his shoulder. He took his helmet off and dropped it to the ground. He stepped closer to me and wrapped me in a hug. I hugged him back and laid my head on his shoulder. _

"_Senna." _

"_Mmmhmm?"_

"_Can I ask you something?" _

"_Absolutely."_

_Cloud pulled back and looked into my eyes. What seems like the millionth time, I got lost in his blue orbs. He slowly leaned closer to me, I felt his breath on my ear. _

"_Senna-"_

**SLAM**

I jolted awake at the sudden noise, and looked around the living room.

"Zack?"

I got off the couch and started walking around the apartment. The kitchen was empty, and so was my room and the bathroom. Zack's door was still closed.

"Zack, are you in there?"

I opened the door, only to find that his room was empty too. I put my hands on my hips and shook my head.

_He probably left to see his girlfriend._

My phone went off, the ringtone letting me know it was a message and not a call.

'_Went to see Aerith. Since I gave a name, you have to give me a name.'_

That sly dog... I give him points for that one.

'_I will give you his name when I see you next, and he's not my boyfriend! Just a friend.' _I replied.

I drummed my fingers on the couch and looked around. I had the whole house to myself, as usual, except I didn't have anything to do this time. I got a strange feeling that something was going to happen, something..bad. Not a second after, there was a loud explosion that made the ground shake.

_That can't be good._ I thought.

I jumped off the couch, grabbing my sword, and running barefoot onto the street. My phone went off, Sephiroth was calling me. I looked to the Shinra building, a large hole was blown in it and smoke was filling the air. I answered my phone.

"I see the building, I'm on my way. What's going on?" I said.

"Genesis is attacking."

**Click**

I took off in a sprint towards the Shinra building. When I got to the fountain, I saw havoc, people running everywhere, Genesis clones chasing after them, and many dead bodies. I pulled my blade from my back and swung at every enemy in my sight and senses. For some enemies, I resorted to using the materia implanted in my arms, casting fira mostly. There was a loud scream that came from the fountain, before looking, I turned and ran towards it. A Genesis clone, holding a gunblade, stood in front of the source of the scream. In one swift motion, I cut him with my blade from behind. He fell and I looked towards the victim. A little girl crouched between the wall and the fountain, covering her face. Her blond curls fell over her pale hands. The sight of her made me freeze, for reasons I couldn't fathom. A strong burning feeling came over the back of my eyes, and bright flashes shown in my mind. I dropped my sword and grabbed ahold of my head, feeling blood drip out of my nose.

_What's happening?_

The girl looked at me, one hand still covering her face, a fearful look in her visible eye. The feeling came back, but stronger. I fell to my knees, still holding my head, and holding back a scream.

"Quickly, just run and get to safety!" I managed to yell.

She nodded, and ran towards the train station. I squeezed my eyes shut, and clutched my head harder, the white flashes becoming faster and faster, each one bringing a stronger pulsing pain. One hand, I made a fist and punched the ground as hard as I could.

"STOP!" I screamed.

The flashes stopped, and the pain dulled slowly. The back of my eyes no longer burned, but I felt completely drained. It was as if every ounce of strength in my body disappeared with the strange happenings. I picked up my sword, using it as a crutch to lift myself off the ground, managing to only get up on one knee. My body was numb. A pair of feet came into my vision, black boots and a red leather trench coat. Black feathers fell around me. I slowly looked up, my blue eyes locking onto the green eyes of the Genesis clone. He smiled at me as he lifted his scythe, ready to slice me into pieces. I struggled to get up on my feet and put my blade in front of me in an attempt to block him. Just as he was about to swing at me, there were gun shots and the Genesis clone fell in front of me slowly fading away.

"Senna!"

"Cloud?"

Sure enough, Cloud ran in front of me, his helmet covering his eyes, and gun in his hand. I smiled at him, happy and grateful to see him. He moved some hair away from my face, and wiped blood off my nose.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm ok." I said.

Cloud smirked and steadied my unstable form.

"I thought SOLDIER was supposed to be the ones helping us Infantry Men?" He joked.

I chuckled, and pulled a small bottle of Elixir from my pocket. I preferred Elixir over Potions, only because, unlike Potions, Elixir has a warm honey kind of taste instead of the chalky taste of a Potion or Hi-Potion. Within a few seconds I was stable and strong again. I poked Cloud's nose and pushed him back a bit.

"Well, from now on, it's gonna be me saving your butt, Cloud Strife." I said.

More copies of Genesis came running out of the Shinra building towards Cloud and I. Cloud held his gun in the standard firing position, while I slung my blade over my shoulder.

"We'll just have to see about that, Senna Fair."

The clones got closer, Cloud and I glanced at each other. I winked at him and smiled.

"Game on, Cloud." I said.

Grabbing the handle with both hands, I slashed two clones in front of me. Cloud started firing his gun, being a little trigger happy, and throwing grenades towards bundled groups. I hit multiple clones with Thundaga and Fira, fluctuating back and forth between materia use, and close combat attacks. I blocked the blade of a Genesis clone and slashed him backwards into another clone. I jumped back, Cloud and I standing back to back.

"Getting tired yet?" He asked.

"Not a sweat. How you faring?" I smirked.

"Running low on ammo." He said.

"That's what you get for being trigger happy." I teased while pushing back another clone.

Cloud hit a clone with the butt of his gun, and shot it once as it fell.

"You could tell?" He asked.

I chuckled, "You didn't exactly hide it, Cloud."

I jumped into the middle of a group of clones and used a move that I picked up from Zack. I held my sword with one hand, and spun in a quick circle, slashing all the clones at once. Zack calls it, Assault Twister, and I'll admit, it comes in handy sometimes. Cloud took out the last of the Genesis clones and slung his gun over his shoulder. I walked over to him and took his helmet off.

"I really wish you didn't have to wear this thing all the time." I said.

Cloud took his helmet out of my hands.

"It comes in handy." He said.

I shook my head and walked into the building, Cloud following behind me. The main lobby was a wreck. Scorch marks, overturned tables, and even the reception desk was cut into pieces. I kicked some rubble away from me and put my hands on my hips.

"What a mess. I wonder where everybody else is." I mumbled.

**I'm sorry about how long this took to get out. Lots of things went down and there was sooo much stress. I also ran into a problem haha. Remember how I said the second part of this was gonna be based in Advent Chilren? Well unknown to me, Megavideo was shut down, so I can't watch it on there. I have the AC DVD, but I wanted to use AC Complete. So I found the Blue Ray copy of it and bought it..now I have to look at my TV instead of my computer while I'm writing that part. I was also thinking of using Dissidia for a series after this . but I'm still pondering that since I'm having trouble defeating Chaos! Anyway, have a nice day guys!**


	10. Author's Note 2

**So many views when I update, but only one person ever reviews. I'm open to any opinions on this story, good or bad. I'm not looking for anything like: OMGGG THIS IS SOO GOOD! PLZ UPDATE! **

**No no..I'm looking for straightforward opinions on what you think. I'm not one of those writers that thinks of myself and says, what I do is right. I use others' opinions to better my stories for a better reading experience. If there are questions, I'll answer anything. If you want to dis my story and say it's terrible, more power to you. It will just make me work harder so that you'll enjoy the fanfiction. Review on any chapter, if you didn't understand something, ask about it. I'll explain it. **

**Please guys, reviews would mean a lot to me so I know that you're enjoying the fanfiction and can understand it. I'm not looking for attention or fans, popularity isn't my thing. I'm only looking for opinions. **

**Thank you for reading. **


	11. Chapter 9

**I realized that I don't have any chapters that has Senna and Sephiroth in them. Seeing as Sephiroth is Senna's mentor, I find that it's only fair for Sephiroth to have a chapter too. WARNING: Sephiroth might be a bit OOC (Out of Character) I don't know much about how he acted when he was still in SOLDIER, so I'm kinda winging it.. **

_**Chapter 9: What is Your Dream**_

Repairs were still being made to the Shinra building, it was almost finished, but there were still some badly damaged things lying around. I helped out with some of the repairs to the SOLDIER floor, but mostly I found myself in the training room, attempting to bring my strength back to what it once was. I haven't seen much of Cloud since the attack, being an Infantry Man, it's part of his job to run quadruple checks on security, and any flaws or weaknesses that might be present.

Some of my fellow SOLDIER members have been treating me coldly. I thought that after a month the rumors about me abandoning SOLDIER would have gone away, especially when I had a break down in front of most of them saying that it wasn't true. I didn't let it bother me though, I may not remember much from that mission, but I know who I am and what actions I would take. That's all that matters to me.

I stopped walking down the hallway and sighed.

"Don't you have better things to do, Sephiroth?"

Turning my head, I came face to face with my mentor. He crossed his arms and turned away from me.

"We need to talk, Senna." He said, "Follow me."

Sephiroth walked away from me, towards the Briefing Room. I followed after him, keeping at least seven paces behind. When we reached the Briefing Room, he turned to me.

"You are well aware that you are a 1st Class SOLDIER, right?" He said.

Dumbfounded by his question, I replied, "Yes, I'm aware of that."

"And you are also aware that, because you are a 1st Class SOLDIER, you don't need a mentor, right?"

"Yes. I know. Is there a problem, Sephiroth?"

"Why do you still treat me as your mentor?"

"Full of questions today, aren't we?" I joked.

Sephiroth glared at me, "Answer me, Senna."

I sighed and crossed my arms.

"I treat you as my mentor because you _are_ my mentor." I said, "You took me under your wing and trained me when I was a 3rd, and it was thanks to your guidance and training that I became a 1st in the first place. I may be a 1st like you, but you are forever my superior."

Sephiroth pondered my words for a brief moment.

"You're right, I am your superior, but I am not your mentor." He said, "You are no longer my student. You have earned your place as a 1st and, therefore, no longer require my guidance. Your wounds are fully healed, and you held your own during the attack. I am your superior in strength and age, but...from this moment on, we are comrades, equals. No longer mentor and student."

My gaze dropped to the floor. When I was a 2nd Class SOLDIER, I always joked around, saying that one day Sephiroth would look at me as his equal and not his student, accept me as his comrade. Now that that day has finally come, I didn't feel as happy as I thought I would be. In fact...I felt older, and slightly hurt. I looked back to Sephiroth, a smile on my face, and tears in my eyes.

"I told you that one day you would call me your equal." I joked.

Sephiroth walked passed me, pausing before the door.

"Do you have a dream, Senna?" He asked.

I turned around, looking at his back.

"A dream?"

"Like your brother does. Do you have a dream to push you further and further until you achieve it?"

My arms hung limply at my sides and I looked at the floor again. I didn't have a dream to push me. I had goals, but no dream. I never exactly pondered a dream to achieve in the long run. I joined SOLDIER to protect people, but why else did I join?

"When you figure it out, use that dream to guide you, and push you further." Sephiroth said, beginning to walk out the door.

"But how can I figure out my dream?" I yelled, "How would I know if it's the right dream to follow?"

Sephiroth glanced at me, "I can't answer those questions. You have to find the answers."

And with that, he left the room, the door sliding shut behind him. I stared at the door for a long time. I thought about what he said, but I still had no answers to my questions. I knew that they wouldn't be answered in one day, that would be ridiculous. To get my answers, I would have to work hard for them. The only problem was, I couldn't think of any future goals to turn into my dream.

"Maybe some fresh air will help me." I said.

I walked out of the Briefing Room, heading towards the elevators, when I stopped dead in my tracks. Professor Hojo and Alexander were standing there, exchanging words, completely oblivious to my presence. I took two steps backwards and quietly walked away. They can't stand there all day, so I would just wait them out at the lounge.

A few 3rd's were hanging out there, that didn't bother me much, at least I wouldn't be to lonely. Before I got to the short stairs, an arm was swung over my shoulder.

"Hey, Senna. I got a bone to pick with you."

"If it's about the bad smell in the bathroom, it's not my fault." I said.

Zack laughed, and tightened his grip on me.

"No no, it's nothing about that." He said, "It just seems like you've been avoiding me ever since I told you Aerith's name."

Damn, of course he would remember that of all things. I bit my lip and looked away from my brother. I did tell him that the next time I saw him I would tell him Cloud's name.

"Sooo? What's this guy's name?" Zack prodded.

I slipped out of Zack's grip and put my hands on my hips.

"Ok, I'll tell you his name, but-"

"I knew there was gonna be a but, there's always a but!" Zack laughed.

I flicked his forehead, "But, you cannot ask me anything else about him. I won't ask you anything more about Aerith. Deal?"

Zack put his hand on his chin and started walking circles around me.

"Hmmm...that sounds like a difficult deal, little sister." He said, "But, if it gets you off my back, then ok. Deal."

I held my arm out in front of me, and Zack did the same, our forearms making an X. It was something we always did when we made promises to each other. I smiled and turned my back to him.

"His name is Cloud." I said, and walked away.

**Gahh...the shortness of this chapter is outrageous! I'm sorry about that. I'm slowly falling back into writer's block haha. Next chapter I promise will be longer then this!**

**Leave a review please :D**


	12. Chapter 10

**VLC2010 you have awesome ideas lol thank you for helping me figure out chapter ideas. The next few chapters are going to be my own ideas, but no worries, I will be getting back to the Crisis Core storyline.**

_**Chapter 10: Nightmare/Returning Memories**_

_Black, all around me, no light. Nothing. I was all alone in this darkness, not knowing where I was. It was quiet and cold. _

"_Hello?" I called out._

_No response. I took a few steps forward, hearing splashing with each step, as if I was walking on water. Crouching down, I felt for the cool touch of water, but the surface below me felt like it was concrete. _

'Not that way' _A whisper said._

_I looked quickly to my right, seeing no source of the soft voice. Standing up, I reached for my sword, only to find that it wasn't there. I walked in the direction the voice came from, listening to the splashing noises my footsteps made. _

'Over here'

"_Who's there?" I asked, "It's dark, I can't see anything."_

'Come over here'

_Again I followed the voice. A bright blue light began to form ahead of me. My pace quickened as the light grew closer. _

'Quickly, or you'll lose it'

"_Lose what? Please, answer me!" _

_I broke into a sprint, determined to reach the light as quickly as possible, but it started to grow smaller, as if it was running away from me. I ran faster and faster, then suddenly, the light engulfed me. Squinting my eyes, I saw the reactor I was at months before. I could hear the helicopter, and Alexander yelling for the pilot to take off._

'Is this the mission that put me in critical condition?'_ I thought._

_I saw myself run out of the reactor, a large head coming up behind me. The neck was stretching, the head opened it's mouth, and one of it's fangs hit my side, creating the huge gash that was scared over on me now. The sunlight appeared to burn the creature, and it's head retreated back inside the reactor. The helicopter took off, with the injured dream me inside of it. A force pulled me into the reactor, where I came face to face with the demonic creature that bit me. _

_Fear shot through me as it roared and lunged towards me. I heard a blood curdling scream, then everything went black again._

"Senna! Wake up!" Zack yelled.

I could still hear the screaming, Zack was shaking my shoulders, pleading me to wake up. It donned on me that the screaming was me. My eyes shot open, the darkness leaving, and my brothers face coming into view. Tears streamed down my eyes, mixing with the cold sweat that covered me. Zack pulled me into a hug, petting my hair and whispering to me.

"Shhh, it was just a dream, Sen. Calm down. You're ok." He said.

"It wasn't a dream...it was a memory. A very terrifying memory." I stuttered.

Zack pulled away from me.

"A memory? What was it?" He asked.

"The mission..the one where I came back in critical condition. I remember it now."

Zack grabbed ahold of my shoulders, looking me in the eyes.

"What happened, Senna?" He asked.

I told him about everything I saw in the dream, about the hideous monster that bit me, how the gash in my side really got there. Zack sat in silence, listening to my every word. A tint of anger appeared in my brothers eyes, then surfaced when I finished replaying the memory. He stood up and paced around my room, before looking back at me.

"You need to tell Director Lazard about this, or even the President. You have to tell somebody, Sen." He said.

"But what if they don't believe me? Those rumors about me almost abandoning SOLDIER are still floating around. Nobody trusts me."

"I trust you, and from the amount of times you sneak out and talk to him, I'm pretty sure Cloud trusts you." Zack paused, "Sephiroth trusts you. He can back you up!"

"Zack-"

"No, Sen, listen to me. Sephiroth is the highest head in SOLDIER, the best out of all of us. If he believes you, then everybody else will have to too!"

He was right. Sephiroth did have a lot of special attention because of his rank and skill, but he made it clear yesterday that we're comrades, not student and mentor anymore. It would be wrong of me to ask him for help in this situation, especially since he's not involved in it what so ever. I shook my head at Zack.

"Sephiroth made it clear to me yesterday that he is no longer my mentor." I said, "I can't ask him for help with this."

Zack pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes.

"If more memories come back, then I'll go to the Director." I said, "Who knows, maybe it was just a nightmare."

Images from my nightmare flashed through my head all day, and with them, came a painful burn from the scar on my side. I kept telling myself that that was all it was, just a nightmare, but I was just lying to myself. I knew it was a memory from what happened that day, but I didn't want to remember it.

"I need to talk to Cloud." I said to myself.

I walked to the section of the Shinra building where the Infantrymen usually train. I knew that Cloud would be there, and I had a plan to get him out for five minutes. Normally, I wouldn't bother him when he had training, but today I viewed my situation as a slight emergency.

Walking through the large metal doors, I saw all the Infantrymen training in different ways. There was a section of the room doing hand to hand combat, in another part, they were shooting guns at fake targets. On the far left side of the large training room, I saw Cloud running through an obstacle course with another Infantryman timing him. He caught site of me when he finished the course, and jogged over to me.

"Hey, Senna. What are you doing here?" He asked, "Is something wrong?"

"I guess you could say that." I said, "Is it ok if I talk to you for a second?"

Cloud was about to answer me, when the Captain of the Infantrymen walked up behind him.

"Strife! What are you doing? It's training time, not wasting time." He yelled, then looked at me, "You're in the wrong section girly. Get outta here."

I put my hand on my hip.

"I'm 1st Class SOLDIER Senna Fair, and I require Cloud for just a moment." I said.

The Captain crossed his arms and glared at me.

"Well he ain't leavin till his shift is over." He said.

"I have more authority then you do, Captain." I said, "I'll return him when I'm finished with him. It's about a mission that I need him to accompany me with, an important mission. Now do you want to put the company in jeopardy because of your petty hatred for SOLDIER?"

It was a true proven fact that this particular captain hated SOLDIER with all his might. I was never interested in the reasons why though, so I never bothered to ask. The Captain gave me a wicked death glare, then walked away, mumbling obscenities under his breath, and cursing SOLDIER. Cloud and I walked out into the hallway, where we'd have some privacy from prying ears. He stood in front of me.

"What's going on, Senna?" He asked.

"I had a nightmare last night." I said. "Before you judge me...just listen to me, promise?"

Cloud nodded, and I took a deep breath. Just like with Zack, I told Cloud about everything that happened, and how I knew that it was a memory from that mission. I told him about how I couldn't go to Sephiroth for back up, and how nobody in SOLDIER, besides Zack, trusted me. Cloud looked sadly at me as I confessed everything that happened in the past few hours. He pulled me into a tight hug. I hugged him back and rested my head in the crook of his neck. If it wasn't for these happenings, my heart would have kickstarted, but I was under to much stress for that to happen.

"It'll be ok, Senna." He said, "I'm always here for you when you need me."

"I know you are," I smiled, "thank you, Cloud."

We separated from each other, and sat down on the floor, side by side.

"I think that you should confront Professor Hojo about this. Try to figure out why he lied about what happened, you know?"

"If only it were that simple." I sighed, "Hojo is as sly as a fox. He could say something that any sane person would know is a lie, and make everybody believe it. Not to mention the fact that I can't stand the man, or his very presence in this building."

"What about Alexander? He should be easy to get information out of."

"Alexander is just as cunning as Hojo. I call him Hojo's clone. Getting information out of those two is like trying to teach cement to get up and walk away, it's not possible."

Cloud put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer to him.

"Well, I'm sure you'll figure out something." He said, "I have faith in you."

I smiled and put my head on his shoulder.

"Thank you, Cloud."

We sat in silence for a few mintues, when my phone started going off. I pulled it out of my pocket and answered it.

"Senna here."

"_I'm getting called off on a mission again." _Zack said from the other line.

"That's nice, where to?" I asked.

"_None of your buisness." _

"Ouch Zack."

"_You'll be fine, Sen."_ Zack laughed, _"But listen. I don't want you to stay alone while I'm gone."_

"Why not? I've stayed alone plenty of times before while you were away on missions."

"_What if you remember another memory? I don't want you to suffer alone through that."_

_I don't wanna suffer through that alone either..._I thought.

"_So listen, this is the one and only time that I'll give you permission to do this."_

Since when did I need his permission to do something? Zack really is growing up with all this stuff happening around here.

"_Ask Cloud if you can stay with him while I'm gone."_

"Zack, are you feeling alright?" I laughed, "Since when were you alright with me staying over a guys house?"

"_Just find somebody to stay with you incase that happens again before I change my mind, Sen. Sheesh you're making me feel like I'm dads age." _He laughed.

"Yeah yeah. Be careful, Zack."

"_Later, Sen."_

I hung up my phone and looked over at Cloud.

"Zack is going on a mission. He wants me to stay with somebody while he's gone incase I recall another memory and react the way I did this morning." I said, "Is it ok if I stay with you?"

Cloud blushed and scratched the back of his head. I chuckled at his school boyish behavior. He smiled back at me and lightly shoved my shoulder.

"Yeah it's fine with me." He said.

"Great. Where do you live?"

"The apartment complex near the market district." He said.

"You mean the three story building next to the man that sells fish?"

Cloud blushed and looked away from me, "Yeah that's it. Second floor, room 213."

"Second floor, 213. Got it."

I stood up and flattened out my shorts. I held my hand out to Cloud and pulled him up to his feet.

"I think I've kept you from training long enough, hm?" I said, "When do you get off?"

"Around 8."

"Then I'll be there at 9."

I hugged Cloud goodbye, and walked back to the elevator. The images of my regained memory no longer haunting my steps, replaced by Cloud's smile. It's funny how one person can take away all the pain that you feel, and replace it with happiness.


	13. Chapter 11

**I'm going to explain the next few chapters for you guys. I've kinda been ignoring the fact that this is a Cloud/OC fanfiction, so the majority of my chapters don't show exactly how Cloud and Senna's relationship is growing. So now I shall apologize, because the next few chapters are going to be in the romance category . Well, growing romance, it's only chapter 11 haha WAY to soon for a boyfriend girlfriend thing yet.**

_**Chapter 11: Sweet Dreams**_

I showed up to Cloud's apartment earlier then I originally said I would. I never showed up early for anything, but I ran out of stuff to do at home, and was quickly becoming bored. Before I left I sent a message to Cloud, so he knew my dilemma and I wouldn't be catching him off guard. I lightly knocked on the door and glanced up and down the hallway.

_Why are you so nervous, Senna?_ I thought to myself, _You've hung out with Cloud plenty of times before, and even had him over. What's so different about being at his place?_

Cloud opened the door, still in his uniform, and smiled at me.

"Hey, Senna." He said, and moved to let me inside.

Cloud's apartment was small, but cozy. It was set up almost like mine and Zack's apartment, except the kitchen and living room didn't have a wall between them, and he had a beautiful white carpet. I took my boots off so I didn't track dirt onto the plush carpet. I had to hand it to Cloud, for being a military dog, he was a good decorator. I took notice of the blanket and pillow laying on his couch.

"So, I'm staying on the couch then?" I asked with a hint of laughter.

Cloud looked at the couch, then back to me.

"No, I'm gonna sleep there." He said, "I thought I'd be a good host and let you have the bed."

"Your bed?"

I mentally slapped myself for asking such a ridiculous question. Of course he meant his bed, if there was a guest room then I'd most likely be staying there. Cloud chuckled and put his hand on the top of my head.

"I only have one bed, Sen." He smiled.

I pushed his hand off my head and playfully glared at him.

"I'm not taking your bed, Cloud."

"You're not taking it, I'm offering it to you."

I cross my arms and threw a look at him that said, you're really gonna pull this with me? He crossed his arms also and smirked at me.

"What if I respectfully decline your offer?" I asked.

"Doesn't matter. You're taking the bed." He said.

"Well I don't want the bed."

"Tough luck."

"It's your apartment."

"You're the guest."

Drumming my fingers on my bicep, I started clicking my tongue, thinking of a way around taking his bed for my time here. It wasn't that I didn't want to sleep in his bed, I would just feel bad having him sleep on a couch in his own place. A light bulb flashed above my head as I thought of an idea to sort this out evenly.

"Got a coin on you?" I asked.

Cloud blinked, taken aback by my very off topic question. He regained his composure, and tossed me a coin that was in his pocket. I held it between us.

"Ok, heads, you take the bed. Tails, I take the bed." I said.

"Alright, sounds fair." Cloud agreed.

I nodded, and flipped the coin. Watching as it dropped to the ground. We stared at it in amazement when it hit the carpet.

"Well then.." Cloud said.

"I've never seen a coin do that before."

The coin had landed on its side, showing neither heads nor tails.

"Maybe the coin doesn't want to decide either." I laughed.

Cloud picked the coin off the floor and dropped it back into his pocket. I clicked my tongue again as I thought up another idea. I blushed as I came to a conclusion.

"Ok, so, here's an idea." I said, "Instead of arguing about who sleeps where..why don't we just..share the bed."

Cloud's face turned red at my idea. As awkward as I felt coming up with something like that, atleast it was a peaceful agreement and everybody wins..right?

"It's not like we're gonna do anything," I quickly said, "We're just gonna be sleeping."

"Right." Cloud stuttered, "Ok..we'll just do that then."

I nodded at him, then his stomach growled loudly. Cloud held onto his stomach, another hungry growl coming from it. I couldn't hold in my laughter at his reaction.

"Hungry much?" I teased.

"I might've skipped lunch today."

I walked into the kitchen and looked around in the cupboards and the fridge. He had a good amount of food, lots of healthy stuff. I turned back to him, catching his confused look towards me.

"You go get changed out of your uniform." I said, "I'll make you something to eat."

Before he could protest, I put my hand over his mouth.

"Please, Cloud," I said, "I want to, and it's the least I can do to say thank you for letting me stay here for the next few days."

Cloud sighed, his warm breath escaping his nostrils. He closed his eyes, and moved my hand off of his mouth. Looking at me with those beautiful blue eyes of his, he smiled at me.

"Alright, fine." He said.

I smiled, and pushed him out of the kitchen.

"Shoo shoo, I don't want you to see what I'm making." I said.

Cloud laughed and retreated to his room, while I sifted through his cupboards again, pulling out different ingredients. I had no idea what his regular diet was, or if he even eats a full meal every day, but tonight he was. I laid out a mixture of different vegetables and spices on the counter top, then proceeded to look through his fridge.

"Come on, Cloud, you gotta have some meat in here." I mumbled.

Looking through the freezer, I managed to find some pork. Unwrapping the package, I put the frozen meat into the microwave and proceeded to defrost it. Normally, I would never lower myself to nuke perfectly good meat, but with the lack of time I had, that was my only option. I started cutting up the vegetables into medium sized cubes and threw them into a skillet to fry them up.

Cloud came out of his room right when I put the slab of pork onto a separate skillet next to the veggies. In my peripheral vision, I saw him stepping into the kitchen, I pointed the wooden spoon I was using at him like I would point my sword.

"Stay out there." I said, "It's not finished yet."

Cloud's stomach growled in protest, but regardless, he sat down on the couch and watched me cook.

(Cloud)

Senna banned me from the kitchen, it was pure torture for me. Skipping my lunch break today seemed like a good idea at the time, I did manage to get more work done, but now I was paying the price for it. Whatever she was cooking smelled amazing, and listening to the meat sizzling in the skillet didn't help my hunger pains.

"How much longer?" I asked.

She looked over at me, and smiled. That smile..that wonderful smile always made my stomach turn itself into knots, I loved her smile, and I'm amazed that it still shows. With everything going on in her life, I thought for sure that she would react differently. I guess that just goes to show how strong SOLDIER members really were, both physically and mentally. Senna looked back to the food, she poured a skillet full of a variety of vegetables into the skillet with the meat and stirred them around.

Normally I would just make a sandwich, or some soup. I'm not the best cook, so I never bothered to really try and make a meal out of all the food I had. Senna sprinkled some spices overtop the delicious smelling meal. She looked so concentrated as she cooked, like she was trying to make it perfect. Whenever she made a face like that, I always wonder what she was thinking about.

"Hey Cloud," She asked, "Where are your plates at?"

"Right above the sink."

She nodded, turned off the stove, and grabbed two plates. She set them on the counter top and started piling food onto them.

"Can I come in now?" I asked.

"No. Just sit tight, I'll bring you your plate." She laughed.

My stomach growled again at the thought of waiting longer for the meal.

"Utensiles." She said.

"Drawer in front of you."

Grabbing two forks, she carried both plates into the living room, handing me mine, then sitting down next to me on the couch. She looked at me as I examined what was on my plate. Chunks of pork and different kinds of vegetables all mixed together. It looked, and smelled, really good. I looked at her, she was still looking at me.

"Go ahead, take a bite." She said.

"You're gonna watch me eat?" I asked.

"No, I'm just gonna watch you take the first bite."

I stabbed a chunk of pork, along with some vegetables, and took my first bite. The different flavors complemented each other perfectly, mixing together with the spices and juices. I stared wide eyed at nothing in particular and almost dropped my fork. I heard Senna laugh beside me, then she started digging into her meal.

(Senna)

I was right about Cloud not having a meal in a long time. Just by him asking me the entire time I was cooking if it was done yet, and his reaction to the taste. This particular dish was also Zack's favorite, except he likes to douse his in gravy. Cloud cleared his plate in record time, that boy sure could eat. I took his plate from him and walked over to the sink.

"You don't gotta wash the dishes, Senna." He said while following me.

"I don't gotta, but I'm gonna." I said.

"Just do them tomorrow." Cloud laughed, "Take a load off today."

I rested my hands on the edge of the sink.

"I guess it is getting late, huh?" I said.

I looked at Cloud, his face flushed, eyes avoiding mine. I sighed and grabbed my pack off the floor.

"Where's your bathroom at?" I asked.

He pointed down the hallway, "Second door on the right."

I changed into my pajamas, just a regular black tanktop with matching black shorts. The lights in the living room were turned off, the only source of light coming from the room next to the bathroom, which I guessed was Cloud's room. I knocked on the door frame, letting him know I was there. He was standing by the edge of his bed, pulling back the comforter.

"You still comfortable with this?" I asked, "Cuz if you're not, I can always sleep on the couch."

"You're not sleeping on the couch." He said.

I rolled my eyes and walked over to him. He held his hand out to the bed, silently saying, after you. I crawled onto it, sitting as close to the wall as I could. Cloud followed after me, facing the door. I laid down, covering up with the sheet, and facing the wall. He laid next to me, our backs facing each other.

"Goodnight Cloud." I said.

"Goodnight Senna."

Cloud turned the lamp off, the room going completely black. I closed my eyes, waiting for sleep to come over me.

After a few minutes, I still hadn't fallen asleep yet, but from the light snoring next to me, it was clear that Cloud was out like a light. I silently laughed as he mumbled in his sleep. I felt him shift around on the bed, then his arm laid over me, pulling me closer to his chest. If I had been looking in a mirror I'm sure my face would have been glowing a very bright red, but I was comfortable non the less.

"S...na." He mumbled.

_Did he just say my name?_ I thought.

"Senna.." He mumbled again.

_Yeah..that's my name alright._

Cloud's hold on me tightened. I smiled.

"Sweet dreams, Cloud." I said, and fell into a blissful sleep.

**Ok, hows that for a somewhat sappy love chapter huh? I think I did pretty good if I do say so myself. ANYWAY, the main purpose for this thing here is to send you guys a link to a picture of Senna. I warn you, I used a base for it ok..think of it like a draft, I'm working on drawing a better one, but I just wanted you guys to see what she looked like at least. So here you go: (get rid of the spaces)**

h t t p : / / f c 0 7 . d e v i a n t a r t . n e t / f s 7 0 / f / 2 0 1 2 / 0 5 2 / 9 / 8 / c r i s i s _ c o r e _ s e n n a _ b y _ s o l d i e r s e n n a - d 4 q g x i x . p n g


	14. Chapter 12

**I'm sorry about the very long wait. I had MASSIVE writers block, like...the most massive of massive writer's block. . and I've also gotten into Skyrim...yeah...I'm addicted to it haha, IT'S SO MUCH FUN! So when I would write and get stuck somewhere and not know how to proceed, I would play Skyrim till 4am. Well you've waited long enough, here is the most recent update! :)**

_**Chapter 12: Thank you for being here...**_

__I woke up before Cloud. His arm was still wrapped around me, holding me against him. As red as my face was, I was thankful for him doing that. I'm almost positive his hold on me chased away the nightmares, or memories. I slowly turned towards Cloud, being careful so I didn't wake him up.

He looked so peaceful in his sleep, way more relaxed then any other time. I smiled, and slid out of his grasp. He stirred a bit, but didn't wake. I let out a sigh of relief, and stepped off the bed. My pack was laying by the door, I grabbed it, and walked into the bathroom to change into my normal attire.

After changing, I walked into the living room and set my pack on the couch. I looked around the room, while drumming my fingers on my thigh. Cloud's apartment was quite clean, nicely organized, and very well decorated. If only I could get mine and Zack's apartment to look like this. I looked at his pictures hanging on the wall and sitting on stands. One in particular caught my attention. Cloud looked to be around thirteen years old, he was sitting on top of a water tower with a big smile on his face. Beside him, was a girl around the same age, with black hair, and an equally bigger smile. I heard Cloud walk into the living room. I turned towards him, and held up the picture with a grin on my face.

"This your girlfriend?" I teased.

Cloud made a confused face. Poor boy was still tired. I giggled and held the picture out to him.

"She's very pretty." I said.

Cloud blushed when he finally understood what I had said earlier. He placed the frame back on the stand, and turned back to me.

"That's Tifa." He said, "No, she's not my girlfriend. She's just my friend."

"Your friend who's a girl."

"You're my friend, who's also a girl," Cloud said, "does that make you my girlfriend?"

I blushed. I didn't mean to blush, but I did. Cloud laughed at my reaction, and put his hand on top of my head, ruffling my hair up.

"Don't worry, Sen. I'm only joking." He said.

I blushed harder and pushed his hand off my head.

"I know you where!" I exclaimed, "I just didn't expect it was all."

Cloud laughed again and shook his head. I shoved his shoulder and laughed with him. I started asking him questions about Nibelheim, his favorite places to go there, and every now and then I would ask him questions about Tifa, some of them he refused to answer.

After about twenty minutes, my phone went off. Cloud looked at my pocket when I neglected to answer it. I sighed and dug it out.

"Senna here."

"We need you in the Briefing Room."

"Right now?" I sighed.

"Right now."

"Alright, be there in a jiff."

I closed my phone and dropped my hands on my lap. I looked at Cloud with apologetic eyes.

"I'm sorry, Cloud. Duty calls." I said.

He smiled at me.

"It's ok, I understand." He said.

I smiled back at him and walked over to the door, sliding my boots on. Cloud opened the door for me and patted my shoulder.

"I'll see you later, ok?" He said.

I saluted him and walked out the door.

_Why do they need me today?_ I thought.

**Cloud's POV**

I was disappointed that Senna got called in. Even though we didn't have anything planned, I was enjoying just talking with her. Seems like being in SOLDIER takes away a lot of your free time.

_I wonder what they need her for. _I thought.

**Senna's POV**

"You have **GOT** to be kidding me!" I yelled, "Why can't somebody else be his puppet?"

Director Lazard rubbed his temples after my out burst. He sighed and slouched over.

"Professor Hojo asked for you specifically. There's nothing I can do about a request such as that." He said, "You don't have a choice, Senna."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. out of all the people in SOLDIER, hell, out of all the people working for Shinra, Hojo wants to experiment on **me**! Director Lazard stood in front of me.

"I'm sorry to do this to you, Senna, I really am." He said.

"Whatever." I snobbishly replied. "When do I go to see the Devil and his minion?"

"Tomorrow afternoon."

"If I call in sick?"

"Somebody will come drag you out of bed."

I sighed. At least I had the rest of the day to myself. Well, not entirely to myself. Cloud was still at his place, I think. Maybe him and I could do something today, if he was up for it.

"You're dismissed." Lazard said.

"Yes sir." I mumbled and walked out of the Briefing Room.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket, and started typing a message to Cloud.

_'Wanna blow off steam with me in the Training Room?'_

Almost immediately, Cloud replied.

'_Be there soon. Meet in Lobby?'_

I replied to him and walked towards the elevators.

**Cloud's POV**

I'm positive that something bad happened at that meeting. Just from the way Senna had worded her message. I got to Shinra as fast as I could. She was standing in the Lobby. Arms crossed across her chest and biting her bottom lip. She saw me walk through the doors, and smiled at me. But, that smile did not reach her eyes. It was clear as day, she was scared and angry.

I wasn't going to pry into her problems, it wasn't my place to. I'm pretty sure she'll tell me eventually.

"Ready to see how a SOLDIER trains?" She asked.

"Lead the way, Fearless Leader." I replied.

She said nothing else as we made our way to the Training Room. Judging from the way she was acting, she must still be thinking about whatever happened at the meeting. My curiosity and concern for her getting the better of me, I decided to ask what was wrong.

"Senna-"

"Not now." She said, "Later ok? I'm sorry."

I nodded my head, and watched as she got more restless.

_Please be ok, _I thought, _it kills me to see you like this._

**Senna's POV**

I was trying to stay as calm as possible. Unfortunately, it wasn't working too well. My hands were shaking at my sides, and I was biting my lip to near bleeding point. I hated doing this, but I just couldn't get the terrible thoughts of what Hojo and Alexander might do to me during the experiment. Any of the other scientists would just hook me up to monitors and test my limitations. Kind of like what a doctor would do during a monthly check up, but I knew better then to expect that from Hojo. Whatever he was going to do, it was either going to be painful, or change something about me, whether it be physically or mentally.

Cloud put his hand on my shoulder, and my anxiety lowered. I looked at him, concern weighed heavily in his blue orbs. I stopped biting my lip, and smiled at him. He was no fool though. Cloud knew better than to believe that a smile meant everything was ok. He could see the fear in my eyes, and he paid attention to my shaking hands. He knew that I was scared out of my wits, and he wanted me to be ok. Problem was, I didn't even know if I had a chance of being ok. I stopped smiling and looked at the floor.

Two strong arms wrapped tightly around me, trying to hold me together. I held onto Cloud as tightly as I could. Neither of us had to say a word to each other. We both knew what the other was saying.

_Thank you so much for being here. _I thought.

**As a side note, I'm already working on chapter 13, so hopefully there isn't too long of a waiting period. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!**


	15. Chapter 13

**Ok so.. it's been a year.. Over a year actually! I must apologize. There's no excuse. READ ON MY LOVELIES!**

**_Chapter 13 – Experiment_**

I didn't sleep that night. Even with Cloud next to me, my nerves wouldn't settle. Every minute that passed by just made me more anxious for the hell to come. Questions raced through my mind. What are they going to do to me? Will it hurt? Will I be mutated afterwards? How long am I going to be there? Am I going to survive this? If those weren't enough to rattle my nerves, the images accompanying them sure did. Terrible, violent, pictures of a monster I could become. I just don't understand… why would Lazard allow them to do this to me? It couldn't be in my job description.

_Zack would never let them do this to me…_ I quietly sighed, and crawled off the bed.

Cloud stirred, but didn't wake up. I took one last long look at his sleeping face before walking out the door. My stomach rolled as my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and shut off the alarm. All the saliva receded from my mouth, leaving it dry and sticky. My heart pounded against my chest as I walked out of Cloud's apartment. I wanted nothing more than to go back inside and stay with Cloud, but they would come for me, and drag me to Professor Hojo. There was no escaping my doom. I took my time walking to the Electric Company. Enjoying what little freedom I had left. The cool morning air, the smell of the dew on the brick road, and the sounds of my boots tapping the ground. All things I took for granted before today. I wanted to take it every feeling I could.

Even with my slow pace, reaching Shinra took only a few minutes. I stopped in front of the building and looked at it. I never really did take in how large of a building it was. I don't even think I've been on every floor in the years I've been here. If I make it through this.. experiment.. I'd have to take a tour of the entire building and see what all it has to offer. With a heavy sigh, I pushed myself forward into the building.

The Lobby was empty, aside from the girl at the greeting desk and the janitor. They paid no attention to me as I walked towards the elevator. I pushed the button, and waited for the doors to open. Before they had a chance to, I glanced beside me, to the stairs. The science department is on the 67th floor, and thanks Hojo, who knows when my next work out will be. Before the elevator doors could open, I made my way to the stairs and began my long, peaceful, trek to the 67th floor.

Once I reached the Science Department, I stopped at the door, and just stared at it. My anxiety was rising as the images of what horrible thing I could become flashed through my mind like a flip book. I shook my head and gulped down the lump in my throat before knocking on the thick metal door. When it opened, Alexander stood in front of me, arms crossed, and foot tapping the floor. Almost like he was a disappointed father.

"You're late." He scolded.

"Elevator was broken, had to take the stairs."

As if on cue, the familiar _ding_ of the elevator rang and the doors opened. Alexander looked to the open doors, then back at me.

"Oh, well would you look at that." I said, "They must have fixed it while I was taking the stairs."

He shook his head and grabbed my arm, dragging me inside. The door closed behind me and locked automatically. Hojo must have a lot of secrets in here that he doesn't want anybody to see. I pulled my arm free of his grasp and he led the way through a maze of empty containers. I tried to keep my eyes forward, but my curiosity got the better of me. If this is where I would be for the next..however long, I might as well know who, or what, I'm going to be suffering with.

Many of them were empty, but others held different species of fiends, and some creatures I have never seen before. They were all sorts of shapes, sizes, and colors. What kind of creature would I turn out to be? Would I be grotesque and weak, or would I be strong and fierce? I shook my head, the images that flipped through my mind were too overwhelming, which didn't help my stomach from churning. Alexander stopped in an open area with fewer containers. Hojo stood in front of a table, papers scattered across it. He was mumbling to himself about "failed experiments" and "needing better test subjects". I guess it's my lucky day then.

Movement from my peripheral vision caught my attention. I looked to my right, where a humanoid creature floated in a container of mako. It's skin blue and shiny. It had no hair anywhere on its body, just a small fin on its skull that flopped over. The tips of its fingers had sharp, white, claws and webbing between the fingers. This creature was clearly built for water combat, but I didn't see any gills. It opened its eyes, the irises yellow and green with snake-like pupils. I couldn't help but notice the pleading in its eyes, like it was begging me to help it. Maybe this poor creature was a human like me once. I sighed, and looked away from it. There was nothing I could do to help it.

"Ah, our new test subject!" Hojo exclaimed, "Senna, dear, how nice to see you again."

"That makes one of us." I mumbled.

Alexander snickered next to me and pushed me forward. I slapped his arm away and stood up straight.

"Before we start this," I said, "what exactly is going to happen to me, and how long am I going to be here?"

Hojo turned away from me and picked up a clipboard from the table.

"I can't answer either question, but-"

"But wha-OW!"

"But you shouldn't be here too long."

Alexander stepped away from me, a syringe between his fingers. I held onto my arm where he stabbed the needle into me and cringed.

"What the hell was that about?" I swore.

"Just a small blood sample." He snickered.

"You son of a-"

"Shall we begin now?" Hojo interrupted.

Hojo led me to one of the empty containers and proceeded to punch in a combination to open it. He handed me a small round patch.

"What's this for?" I asked.

"It's to measure your heart rate. Put it on. Quickly now!"

I stuck the patch over my heart and stepped into the container. There was a _whoosh_ as the air lock shut me in. I tried to steady my breathing as a green mist poured into the container. It smelled horrible, but didn't have a taste.

"This should help you fall asleep so we can perform proper tests on you." Hojo said.

_Great.. Well, better to be unconscious through this whole thing instead of awake._

The mist faded away, and already I felt a slight bit drowsy. There was an alarm, and the sound of sliding metal from the bottom of the container. I looked down as mako started to pour in from two sides. I put my hands against the glass as the container filled with the green liquid, my heart pounding against my chest. As it filled up to my chest, my vision blurred around the edges and my eyes got heavy. I looked to the blue creature in the container across from me, its eyes watching me with sadness, before it looked away from me. The mako filled to my chin as sleep finally took over me and my vision faded to black.

_Cloud…_


	16. Chapter 14

**Ok so I've been thinking, I know I said I wanted to make this a trilogy with Advent Children and later on Kingdom Hearts, but I don't think that's the case anymore. My PS2 kicked the bucket and it would just take way too much time to do my research on Kingdom Hearts to make sure I get details right and so on and so forth. If I'm lucky, I can probably use Dirge of Cerberus as a third story, but I don't think it's going to work haha. So, I'm sorry guys, you might just have to stick with a sequel whenever I get to it. Also, I think my timeline may be off as far as the Crisis Core storyline goes, so I'm doing my best to try and fix whatever mistakes I made without having to go back and add a chapter or remove one.**

**But anyways, here is another long overdue chapter! Thank you guys so much for sticking with me!**

* * *

><p><strong><em>Chapter 14: Family Bonds<em>**

**Zack POV**

_You've reached Senna! Sorry I'm not answering. Leave a message at the beep._

With and aggravated sigh, I slammed my phone shut and redialed Senna's number.

_You've reached Senna! Sorry I'm no_-

"Dammit!" I yelled, "Why aren't you answering?"

I put my phone in my pocket and ran into the Shinra building, ignoring the hellos and welcome backs people gave me. I furiously pressed the button for the elevator while it slowly descended to the ground floor.

_Could this take any longer?_

Finally, the doors opened. I stepped inside and assaulted the button for the 49th floor until the doors closed.

**_Tap tap tap tap tap_**.

I was getting impatient. Even though I'm sure that Senna is ok, I can't help but to worry about her. Still though, it's not like her to ignore her phone, especially when it's me calling her. A number of thoughts ran through my mind. Maybe she's caught up in training, or maybe she's getting briefed for a mission. Nothing bad could have possibly happened while I was away; so why do I have this feeling in my gut that something is wrong?

The doors opened to the SOLDIER floor. My first stop was the training room, which was empty with no trace of Senna being here. I sighed and quickly made my way to the briefing room.

"Hey Zack! Long time to see."

"Not now, Kunsel." I said, "I'm in a hurry."

Kunsel caught up behind me.

"What's the rush? You just got back from a mission, they'll understand you wanting to take your time."

"It's not that." I said, my pace getting faster, "Senna hasn't answered her phone at all today and I'm trying to find her."

I heard Kunsel's footsteps halt behind me.

"They didn't tell you?" He said.

I stopped mid-step, my heart pounding in my ears. The tone of his voice said it all. Something bad happened to my sister.

* * *

><p>"Director!"<p>

I stormed into Director Lazard's office, slamming my hands on his desk, I gave him a glare that would even frighten Sephiroth.

"You gave Hojo permission to use my sister as an experiment?!" I yelled, slamming my fists on the wood again.

Lazard sighed and put his head in his hands.

"He asked for her specifically, Zack-"

"That doesn't mean anything without my permission! I'm her guardian until she turns 18! Any and **ALL **matters involving scientific testing are supposed to be brought to my attention and only I can give the go ahead! AND YOU HANDED HER TO THEM WITHOUT GETTING PERMISSION FROM ME!"

Blood pounded through my veins as my anger grew. When Senna joined SOLDIER, I had to sign numerous papers stating that I'm her guardian, a request from our parents. It was my job to protect her from things like this, and the fact that the Director gave the go ahead without notifying me was just enough to make me explode.

"Hojo assured me it would only be physical endurance tests and that she would return to work in a day or two. I've been trying-"

"That doesn't mean anything! I promised my parents that I would never let anything happen to her! I promised **her** that I would **never** let the science department lay a hand on her!"

"Zack-"

"NO!"

I slammed my hands on the desk again and took a few calming breaths before I had a stroke.

"How long as she been up there?" I asked through gritted teeth.

Lazard adjusted his glasses and laid his hands on his lap.

"Almost two weeks." He sighed, "I've been trying to get ahold of Hojo to see what was going on, but he's not answering."

I growled and pushed away from his desk. Just calling that nut job isn't enough to get Senna out of there. If he wasn't going to do anything about it, I will, by force if I have to!

* * *

><p>I pounded my fists on the door to the science department hard enough to wake the dead. They would have to open up eventually.<p>

"Hojo! Open the door!" I yelled and continued to punch the door.

The air lock released and Alexander stood in the doorway, a smug look on his face.

"Sorry, Zack, but Professor Hojo isn't here right now. If you'd like, I could take a message and deliver it to him later." He said.

"Where is she?" I growled.

"She who?" Alexander asked.

"You know who. My sister, Senna Fair."

"Ohh, you're looking for Senna are you? Well she is here, but I'm afraid you can't see her right now."

I grabbed ahold of the collar of Alexander's shirt and lifted him off the ground.

"You listen to me and you listen good; I have signed documents naming me Senna's guardian. Therefore, my permission is needed for anything like this, and my permission wasn't granted. Now you either take me to her, or I'm storming in there and finding her myself. Got it?"

"I think she's served her purpose. Let me get her for you." Alexander replied with a shake in his voice.

"No, you take me to her."

He nodded his head and I set him back on the ground. I followed behind him into the science department, ready to break his skull if need be. Alexander stopped at an empty table surrounded by containers. I looked at each one until my gaze settled on Senna, floating in mako.

_Physical endurance my left cheek!_

"Open the container." I ordered.

"You only told me to take you to her. Well, here she is. You can leave now."

I swear my vision turned red at his statement. He was playing a dangerous game with me right now, and I was not in the mood for it. I walked over to the container and pointed my sword at it.

"What are you doing?" Alexander gasped.

"Either you let her out right now, or I'm going to break it open myself and cost the science department a lot of gil."

We stood in a staring contest, Alexander wide eyed and trembling, while I stood still as a statue. Without his response, I swung my sword at the container.

"Wait!" He yelled.

I stopped just before I hit the glass. He walked over and pushed the _release_ button on the container and entering an authorization code. The mako drained from the container and Senna fell to the floor. When it opened, I hurried over to her and lifted her off the ground. I looked to Alexander.

"She is never coming back here to be one of Hojo's test subjects, not while I'm still breathing. Understand?"

He nodded his head and walked away from us. I shifted Senna in my arms and made my way to the door to take her home.

"Zack?"

Her voice cracked and was very quiet. I looked down at her, she was still asleep. I tightened my grip on her to let her know I was here.

"You're going to be ok, Senna." I said, "I'm here now. They won't ever take you again."

She smiled.

"I promise."


End file.
